Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold
by sammygirl1963
Summary: Sam is kidnapped and tortured by a hunter for revenge against John. Will he survive until his family can find him? LimpSam/AngstyDean/AngstyJohn Warning: Language
1. Chapter 1

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Author's Note: **Sam is 16 and Dean is 20 in this story. This story is dedicated to Pippin1984 who requested to see a kidnapped Sam story.

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Dean had just pulled up to West Chatham High School in Cambridge Nebraska to drop his sixteen year old brother off for school. They were in town to hunt a Ragana who had been haunting the nearby woods and killing people. They had been in town for a couple of weeks now researching where the deaths had occurred and had finally pinpointed the most probable location of the creature's lair. "I'll be here to pick you up at three o'clock sharp." Dean said as he shut down the engine and turned to face his brother. "Make sure you're not late. Dad want's to finish this hunt tonight.

"Yeah fine, I'll be here." Sam replied with a frown as he reached into the backseat to pull out his book bag. He was so tired of all the moving around and wanted to stay in once school for more than a month or two at a time.

"Sammy, it's gonna be alright you know." Dean said as he saw how disheartened his little brother was. "It won't take you long to make friends at your next school."

"That's easy for you to say Dean, you were always mister popular no matter where we went. I just wish…aw, forget it." Sam said as he turned his back and began to trudge away.

Opening his door, Dean got out of the car and quickly jogged up to his brother and grabbed him by the shoulder to spin him around. "You just wish what Sammy?"

"I just wish I could stay in one school for the whole year but it's never going to happen because of Dad and his need to always be hunting." Sam replied with misty eyes.

"Sammy, you know why we hunt. We've got to kill find that thing that killed mom and make it pay. I know you're hurting kid and I'll talk to dad about maybe letting you stay with Jim or Bobby for a while so you can finish out the rest of this year at one school okay kiddo." Dean said as he looked his brother in the eye.

"It's not the same Dean, you wouldn't be there because you'd be off hunting with dad. Don't worry about me, I'll be okay. I'm just tired you know."

Seeing the truth in Sammy's statement just from the posture he held and the weary look in his eyes, Dean said, "As soon as we finish this hunt, I'll try to talk dad into taking a short vacation from it, just spend some family time together. Okay kiddo?"

"Like that's ever going to work. I'm gonna be late to class Dean, I gotta go." Sam stated as he crossed the parking lot and walked up the steps leading to his latest school.

Dean watched his baby brother walk away and noticed how defeated he seemed to be from his slumped posture. He knew Sam had been getting upset lately with their way of life, but he didn't notice the toll it was taking on him. "I'll make sure you get that break you need Sammy, I promise." he whispered as he watched his little brother disappear into the school.

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As the school day slowly passed by, Sam wasn't looking forward to going to his P.E. class. He was going to have to tell his friend Brian that they would be moving again. He and Brian had quickly become friends when Sam started since he had been at the school only a few weeks himself. It just seemed normal for the two newest students to hit it off and become friends. As the bell rang signifying for them to exchange classes, Sam walked into the gymnasium and sat down on the bleachers. He saw Brian approach from the other end and wave at him with a smile on his face before walking over to take the empty spot beside him.

"Hey Sam, what's up? You don't look so happy dude." Brian informed him as he looked up to see their substitute P.E. coach walk over towards them. Their regular coach had been out with the flu for the past week, but the new guy was alright and let them get away with not doing laps like Coach Smith made them do everyday before starting class.

"I just found out that we'll moving again. It my dad has his way, this will be my last day of school here" Sam answered with an apologetic look towards his friend.

"Damn, that sucks dude. I'm sure going to miss you." Brian said with a tight smile. He was hoping that he and Sam could join the basketball team together once tryouts got started in a month.

As the boys talked with each other, substitute Coach Alexander stopped to listen when he heard Sam Collins mention that it could be his last day at the school. Unbeknownst to the _"Collins" _family, he had been watching them over the past two weeks. He knew who they were as soon as they entered town. He had met John Winchester approximately seven years ago when he had interfered in a hunt he was on causing him to look like a fool in front of his friends. He would never forgive John for proving him wrong about that nest of supposed vampires and he was going to pay. He had hoped they would be in town a little while longer, but now it looked like he would have to put his plan into effect sooner than he had thought. He would have to grab the youngest Winchester before the end of the day and get the hell out of town.

Knowing that he had to get class started before the student's became suspicious, he blew the whistle and said, "Everybody taking your positions for basketball drills. He watched as each of the boys took their assigned positions and started practicing their drills. He stopped a few of the boys for pointers and showed them how to make their plays better. Once he got to Sam, he said, "Collins, I want to see you after class today in my office." before walking away.

"Huh, wonder what that's about?" Sam thought as he shrugged his shoulders and continued to defend the ball from the boy trying to steal it. He wasn't their regular coach so he couldn't ask him about joining the team. He wondered if the coach was upset about something and he was in trouble. Maybe it would be a good thing they were leaving today as he didn't want to have to serve after school detention, or worse…receive a paddling.

As the time neared for the bell to ring, the coach instructed the students to put the basketballs away and get ready for their next class while he waggled his fingers at Sam to follow him. The last period of the day was his planning period so they wouldn't be interrupted by any other students accidentally walking in. Brian gave Sam an "I'm sorry look" before Sam turned to do as instructed. Sam had just entered his office when the bell rang and everyone else left the gym.

"Did I do something wrong sir?" Sam asked as he approached the coach with trepidation. He hoped the coach wouldn't keep him long since it was time for science and Mrs. Matthews would give him hell in front of the whole class for being late. She had a knack for making her students feel two feet tall by the time she was finished with them. In her book, there was no excuse in the world for being late.

"No son, I was just worried about you. You didn't seem like your usual self." the coach replied as he moved around and sat just in front of Sam on the edge of his desk. "Is there something troubling you that I can help you with?"

"No sir, I'm fine. Sam replied with a tight smile. "I just found out we're moving is all."

"Well if you're sure there's nothing I can help you with then you can go back to class." Hank informed the youngest Winchester.

"I'm sure, thank you sir." Sam replied as he stood up to turn around. He suddenly found himself grabbed from behind as a cloth was placed over his mouth and nose. He tensed as he instantly recognized the minutely sweet smell being that of chloroform. He tried not to breath in as he fought to pull the cloth away from his face.

As Sam turned to walk away, Hank put his hand into his pocket and pulled out the cloth he had just soaked with chloroform before Sam had walked into the room. He quickly grabbed the kid's shirt and pulled him to his chest in a jerking motion as he used his other hand to clamp the cloth over Sam's nose and mouth. He felt the youngster beginning to struggle and held on tight, the little bastard wasn't going to get away from him.

Sam could feel dizziness overtake him as he fought to get away. He tried to claw the man's hands but found himself unable to do so since he had cut his fingernails the previous day since they were too long for his liking. Knowing that he would pass out soon if he didn't do something, he swung his elbow back and hit them an in the side only to hear him make an "oomphing" sound but still maintain his hold on him. Sam could feel his heart rate speed up and he raised his foot to stomp down onto the other man's foot, but it lacked any real power as faintness assailed him and he passed out backwards into the man's arms.

Quickly checking outside the gymnasium to make sure no one was in sight, he returned to his office and hoisted Sam over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and carried him outside to his car. Opening the trunk, he placed the lanky unconscious boy inside and quickly closed the lid. He then climbed into the old sedan and pulled out of the school parking lot. "Let the fun begin." he thought as he treasured the idea of finally bringing John Winchester to his knees.

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Dean pulled up to the school at 2:55 PM and waited for his little brother to exit the building. As he waited, he thought about the conversation he had had with his father earlier. At first, John had bristled at the idea of taking a small vacation, but when he explained how the hunt was affecting Sammy and could possibly led to health problems, their dad had agree to at least think about it. It wasn't much, but at least it was a start.

Glancing at his watch, Dean noticed that it was now five minutes after three and that his geeky little brother was still nowhere in sight. He sighed as he prompted his elbow on the window and rested his head in his palm. "Damn it Sammy, I told you to be out here at three o'clock sharp." he mumbled to himself as he watched another group of student exit the building with no sign of his brother.

After waiting another ten minutes, Dean decided to go in and get his little brother and drag him out, even if it embarrassed him. If Sam had done as he was told, then he wouldn't have had to embarrass the kid. Walking up to the office, he asked the secretary to please page Sam Collins to come to the front office. When Sammy didn't show up within a few minutes, he immediately became concerned. "Where the hell is my brother?" Dean questioned as he drummed his fingers on the secretary's desk. "I don't know sir, let me get the principal and see if he can help you.

A few moments later, a tall stock man walked out of the office and introduced himself as Virgil Cooper. He had the nurse pull up Sammy's schedule and had Dean follow him to the science room where Sammy's last class was scheduled. Upon talking to the teacher, they were informed that Sam had never shown up for class. They were about to walk away when the principal noticed Brian Glenn walking by. "Brian, aren't you a friend of Sam Collins?"

"Yes Sir" Brian answered as he looked warily at the principal and the man wearing the brown leather jacket standing beside him.

"This is Sam's brother Dean, Sam was supposed to meet him up front but never showed up. Do you have any idea about where he might be?" the principal asked.

"No sir, the last time I saw him, he was headed into Coach Alexander's office. He wanted to see him after class.

"Thanks Brian." Principal Cooper stated as he then proceeded towards the gym. Upon entering the gymnasium, the saw no signs of the coach or Sam. The principal telephoned the secretary to put out an all call for the coach to return to the gym. When he didn't arrive, Dean immediately became suspicious. Deciding to check the coach's office, the principal and Dean found Sam's book bag and signs of a struggle. "What the hell?" Dean questioned as he saw the papers strung all over the floor., immediately knowing that someone or something had taken Sammy.

"I'm not sure what happened here, but I can promise you we will get to the bottom of it." the Virgil Cooper stated as he picked up the phone to call the police. He wasn't the only one however placing a call as Dean flipped open his phone and pressed the speed dial for his father's number.

"Dad, Sammy's missing!"

**TBC **_**Do you want to read more???**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 2**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

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**Previously: **_"Dad, Sammy's missing!"_

As John pulled up to the latest high school that Sammy was attending, he took note of the two police cruisers that sat out in the parking lot making his fear for his youngest ratchet even higher than it already had. He just couldn't believe it, his youngest was missing and the circumstances surrounding it were suspicious. He hated that the police had arrived before him. It would make it that much harder for him to search the school and collect any evidence that would lead him to whoever or whatever had taken his baby boy. It pissed him off to know that Sammy had been snatched and he had no freaking idea why. Sure he had been hunting the Ragana, but that thing kept within the bounds of it's woodland territory, refusing to leave the security of it's woods.

Bounding up the steps, John pushed open the glass door leading into the school and was about to storm into the office when he saw his oldest walking down the hall with his hands in his pocket and a stricken look on his face. He could only imagine what must be running through Dean's mind and he had no doubt his oldest was most likely blaming himself for what happened. Dean took his job as Sammy's protector to heart and anytime something happened to his youngest, Dean always took the blame. Walking over to meet his oldest halfway, he tried to brace himself for whatever news Dean was about to give him.

"What the hell happened Dean and why is there two police cruisers out there in the parking lot? You know better than to bring the police into our family business."

"I didn't call 'em dad, the principal did when we found Sam's book bag and signs of a struggle in the coach's office." Dean answered irritably. His dad should have known by now he wouldn't do anything that would put his brother's life in jeopardy or that could disturb the evidence, possibly leaving them without any clues as to finding where his brother was.

"I'm sorry Dean, I didn't mean to accuse son, I'm just worried about Sammy." John stated as a ran a shaky hand through his dark hair. "You said there were signs of a struggle."

"Yes Sir, there were papers scattered all over the place and most of the things had been knocked off of the desk. I'm not sure, because it was so faint, but I could have sworn I smelled chloroform in there too dad." Dean replied.

"Well, at least we know how your brother was subdued. Know we just got to find out who or what the hell took him." John stated as he saw the police heading towards them. Time to be the scared father instead of the hunter who was going to kill the bastard who dare take his son.

"Mr. Collins I assume?" Officer James Malloy questioned as he reached out a hand.

"Yes, I'm Sam's father John." He answered as he reached out to shake the man's hand. "What the hell happened to my boy? Our kids are supposed to be safe at school and now my oldest here is telling me that Sammy is missing under suspicious circumstances."

"We think your son has been kidnapped by the substitute coach here at the school since he went missing about the same time as your son." Officer Malloy informed John. "According to an eyewitness, Sam was last seen heading towards the coach's office for a conference. We found your son's book bag in the office along with signs of a struggle. We have put out an APB on the coach as well as your son based on the descriptions from your oldest son and the school staff. I'm sorry to say Mr. Collins, that even where we think our children are the safest, bad things happen and they are put in danger."

"Please tell me you have some leads as to where my son is." John stated fishing for all the information he could get.

"At this point, I'm sorry to say that we don't John, but I can promise you we will put every man available on your son's case and we'll do our best to get young Sam home safe and sound. Can, you please give me a phone number where I can get in contact with you if we need more information?"

"Sure" John answered as he gave the officer a fake cell phone number fearing that Sam's abduction was done by somebody who was out to get him or had a revenge against hunters. Why else would Dean notice the smell of chloroform?

"I'll let you know as soon as we have something." Officer Malloy informed John. "I'm sorry that you and your family have to go through this. I have three sons of my own and can't imagine what I would do if one of them came up missing."

"Thanks, just please, find my boy." John said before shaking the man's hand and watching him walk away. Once the officers had exited the building, he turned to Dean and said, "Show me where Sammy was kidnapped."

Dean led his father down the hallway and into the gymnasium where John ducked under the police tape to see if he could find evidence of his own. He pulled out his EMF meter and scanned the area quickly finding no signs of spirits in the room confirming his suspicion that it was most likely somebody out to take revenge against him. Turning towards Dean, he asked "Do you have any idea what the freaking coach looks like?"

"No sir, only that he is approximately six foot tall with blonde hair and slightly balding. He had a muscular build and the principal said he had a tattoo of a lightning bolt on his left bicep." Dean replied in answer to his father's question."

"Tattoo of a lightning bolt on his left bicep, now why does that sound familiar?" John questioned himself aloud as he tried to figure out where he remembered it from.

"Dad, we gotta find him. Sammy was upset this morning about having to transfer to another school this morning when I left him. I should have…" Dean drifted off as he started rubbing his hands up and down his arms in nervousness.

"Dean, don't do this to yourself. We'll get him back, I swear it on your mother's grave. Just hold yourself together for Sammy' sake."

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As consciousness began to take hold, Sam began to notice several different things. His arms and shoulders ached and his hands were tingly and numb. he tried to move them, but found himself unable to do so. Fear took hold as he suddenly realized that they were bound behind his back. He opened his eyes to find himself in a small enclosed space with a weird smell to it, almost like rubber. He tried to call out but found himself unable to do so since his mouth was firmly taped shut. _"What the hell?" _he thought as he tried to remember exactly what had happened.

He remembered being at school and telling Brian that he was moving again. He remembered being called to the coach's office and worried that he was in trouble for some reason. Suddenly remembering being grabbed from behind and chloroformed, he started struggling trying to get free of the rope that was binding him. He could feel the twine biting into his wrists and the warmth of blood bubbling up. _"Son of a bitch, dad's gonna kill me." _he thought irrationally knowing that his dad wanted to finish the hunt tonight and leave for their next job.

Without any notice, he found himself jolted about and quickly realized he was in the trunk of a car. He knew that they had most likely pulled off the main road from the way he was being bounced around. After hitting a particularly nasty bump, he felt his head bang against the top of the trunk and cursed at the immediate headache it gave him. As they continued on, his muscles began to protest the rough treatment and he knew he would be sporting some bruises. He had just started to brace himself as best he could when he felt the car coming to a jarring stop and was flung towards the back of the trunk. Second's later, he breathed in clean fresh air when the trunk was opened to notice that it was dusk meaning that he had been gone for a quite few hours now, long enough for his family to notice that he was missing and come looking for him.

Glancing around, he soon found himself looking into the eyes of his captor. He wanted to kick himself for allowing his guard to drop so much that he had been easy prey for the man standing before him. He shivered a little as he saw the pure, unadulterated hate in the man's eyes for him. How could he have not noticed it before. He grimaced as he felt the man grab him by the arm and roughly jerk him up and then hissed as he felt the tape ripped from his mouth.

"When my dad finds you, he's going to kill you." Sam spat out with venom as he glared at the coach.

"Let me show you what happens to kids with big mouths." Hank Reynolds, aka Coach Alexander stated as he drew his fist back and punched Sam hard in the mouth causing him to fall backwards hitting his head on the hood of the trunk once again.

Sam tried to doge the blow but was unsuccessful as he felt the big man's meaty fist collide with his mouth. He immediately felt a searing sensation as he felt his lip split from the blow and then the warmth of blood as it oozed down his chin. Sam fought back the tears that sprung to his eyes as he glared at the man before him unwilling to how any weakness. He tried to retreat within the confines of the trunk when he saw the coach whip out a sharp dagger.

"Don't worry kid, I ain't gonna cut ya --- yet" Hank stated with an evil grin as he cut the ropes binding Sam's legs. He'd be damned if he was going to lug the kid over to the specialized cabin he had deep in the woods of Colorado. Reaching into the trunk, he grabbed Sam painfully by his bound arms once again and pulled him out of the trunk. "Get your ass a movin' kid" he stated as he gave Sam a rough shove forward causing him to almost fall.

As Sam stumbled towards the cabin, he couldn't help but wonder why in the hell the man had picked him to kidnap. His family wasn't rich and there was no way they would be able to raise any amount of money for ransom. Had it just been his bad luck to be at the wrong place at the wrong time? Nah, that couldn't be it since the coach had singled him out specifically to go to his office.

"Quit your damned day dreaming and get a move on it Winchester." Hank snarled giving Sam another harsh push, this time causing him to fall to the ground abrading his knees from the sharp rocks on the ground.

"_Oh holy crap, he knows my real name." _Sam thought as he struggled to stand up again. _"I'm in deep shit now." _Sam soon found himself roughly grabbed for a third time as Hank grasped his bicep and forced him up the wooden steps. A few seconds later, he was led into the cabin and into a backroom where he found himself quickly chained to the wall.

"And now the fun begins." Hank said as he pulled back the sleeves on his shirt and stared sadistically at Sam.

Sam swallowed convulsively as he looked at the insane man before him. _"Dad, Dean, where are you?" _he thought just as he felt a solid fist impact with his right eye.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 3**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Author's Note: **Sorry this chapter is late.

**Warning: **Lots of cursing in this chapter by an upset John.

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**Previously: **_Sam swallowed convulsively as he looked at the insane man before him. "Dad, Dean, where are you?" he thought just as he felt a solid fist impact with his right eye. _

As Hank's fist connected with Sam's eye, he felt his head snap back from the force of the blow causing it to impact with the concrete wall behind him. He groaned as a massive headache immediately took hold making him extremely nauseous. Taking a few deep breaths to quell the nausea, he raised his head to glare at the evil coach standing in front of him as best he could with one swollen eye. "You sure a brave man when your opponent is unable to fight back. You're nothing but a freaking coward." Sam snarled with a venom laced voice.

"I guess you haven't learned your lesson yet you insolent little bastard." sneered Hank as he raised his hand and backhanded Sammy across his already swollen mouth. "If you don't want me to ram those pearly white teeth down your throat, I suggest you keep your damn mouth shut boy."

Sam clenched his fists in anger but held his tongue knowing that the coach would probably do as he threatened. He'd do himself no good if he got the coach so fired up in anger that the man ended up beating the shit out of him. He needed to be as healthy as possible if he was going to find a way out of this mess.

"That's better." smirked Hank as he watched Sam taking a few deep, calming breaths. "Children should be seen and not heard." Walking over to the table in the middle of the room, he picked up the Polaroid camera that was sitting there to launch the second part of his plan which was to torment the son of a bitch who had shown him up in front of his friends. He'd show John Winchester just who was the better man.

"Say cheese" Hank cajoled as he quickly snapped a shot of Sammy's face before the youngest Winchester could look away. He wished he could be there to see John's face when he found the photo and saw his precious little baby's face. His eye was already taking on a nice shade of reddish purple and blood was once again seeping from the split lip since he had reopened the wound upon backhanding him.

"What the hell?" Sam growled as he closed the one eye that wasn't swollen shut as the bright flash glared in his eye.

"Just a little souvenir for daddy dearest" Hank answered with pride as he turned the picture over and taped a previously handwritten note to the back of it. "I want your stinking father to see just how much fun we are having together."

Sam hung his head upon hearing the man's words. He had no doubt his dad and Dean would lose it upon seeing the injuries to his face, but now they would know just how weak he was since he hadn't been able to defend himself. His dad was sure to be pissed with him for not being totally aware of his surroundings at all times.

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After searching the coach's office and not finding any viable evidence, John knew without a doubt that he was going to need some help on this one. He was not going to allow pride to get in the way when Sammy's life was at stake. As they walked back outside to the Impala, John pulled out his cell phone and started scrolling through the names for the one person he knew would be able to help--he just hoped he would be willing to after their last meeting. Pushing the call button, he stood by the door of the Impala as he waited for the gruff hunter to pick up.

"Singer here, what can I do for ya?" came the voice through the line.

"Bobby it's John, I…"

"What the hell are you doing calling me Winchester? I meant it when I told you I'd fill your ass full of buckshot if I ever saw your sorry ass again." Bobby informed the man he had called friend for a hell of a long time.

"Bobby please, I need your help, it's Sammy." John stated as he thought about the last time he had seen Bobby when he had indeed threatened to shoot him if he ever saw him again.

_They had just finished a hunt for a crocotta where Dean had nearly been killed when the thing had disguised it's voice, making it sound like Sammy was in trouble. Dean had raced to help, falling into it's trap and his arm and shoulder had been sliced up pretty bad with it's razor like teeth before John had realized what had happened and killed the thing. After stitching the gashes, John had taken him and a concussed Sammy to heal at Bobby's place. While there, Dean had developed an infection that left him out of it for days. He was just starting to get well again when a possible lead had came in about the thing that had killed Mary and John couldn't let it pass. John had packed up Sammy and a very weak Dean and hit the road again much to Bobby's chagrin. It angered Bobby to no ends that John would willingly put Dean at risk causing Bobby to pull a shot gun on him warning him that he ever showed his face again, that he would fill his ass with a load of buckshot._

"Look, I wouldn't ask you for help if I had any other choice. Sammy's been kidnapped and we don't have a whole lot to go on. I could really use your help man." John pleaded.

"Damn it all to hell, why is it you Winchesters always have the worst damn luck?" Bobby swore as he swiped his ball cap from his head and flung it across the room. "How can I help?"

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, John said, "I need your help in figuring out who took Sammy. I know I've seen the man somewhere before, but I just can't remember where. I've been racking my brains for the last thirty minutes and I keep coming up with nothing."

"What do you have to go on?" Bobby questioned, ready to help in any way he could. Just because he was pissed with John didn't mean those feelings transferred to his boys. Hell, he could never turn his back on those boys after having watched them grow up.

"Just the description of the man." John answered honestly. "The kidnapper is approximately six foot tall with blonde hair and slightly balding. He has a muscular build and a tattoo of a lightning bolt on his left bicep."

"Holy shit, that sounds a lot like that lunatic Hank Reynolds." Bobby stated with a hitch in his breath. If that crazy bastard had Sammy, there was no telling what he would do to the kid. The man had used to be a good hunter but had gone off the deep end as far as other hunters were concerned.

"Son of a bitch!" John swore emphatically suddenly remembering the man with utmost clarity. He had met up with him on a hunt for a supposed group of vampires. Hank was sure the nest was located in an old and abandoned building on the backside of Chicago. They had been watching the building for a couple of days learning their habits when John had suddenly discovered the group was nothing but a bunch of run away kids who were strung out on drugs and got their highs from bleeding each other. Determined to prove him wrong, Hank had knocked him out and then captured and tortured two of the kids trying to make them talk. By the time John had gotten inside the building, both kids had nearly been killed. Anger turned into rage after John had seen what Hank had done and he literally beat the crap out of the man while belittling him in front of everybody to see, including the two other hunters who had joined them for the hunt.

"Dad, dad what is it? What did Bobby say?" Dean asked with a fear filled voice as he saw his father's strong reaction to whatever Bobby had said to him.

John held up his hand with his palm out letting Dean know that he needed to wait a minute while he finished the conversation with Bobby. "You know this is in revenge for that hunt right Bobby? He took Sammy to get back at me. There's no telling what that crazy bastard will do to him. We've got to find him quick."

"I'll dig around and see what I can find for you John. You know I really care about the kid. I'd do anything to keep him from being hurt." Bobby stated with sincerity.

"I know you would, and thanks Bobby. Just please, get back to me as soon as you can." John added before disconnecting the call.

"Well, what did he have to say?" Dean inquired before John fully flipped the phone shut.

"He knows who took your brother and so do I. It's a hunter named Hank Reynolds and he's one psychotic son of a bitch." John answered as he ran his fingers through his hair in agitation.

"Why would a hunter want to take Sammy? That just doesn't make sense." Dean said unbelievingly.

"It's my fault Dean. Your little brother was kidnapped for something I did years ago. That monster is going to torture Sammy to get back at me." John replied in answer to Dean's question watching his son begin to pale. "We were on a hunt together a few years back. It was that time I left you boys with Pastor Jim because you both had the flu. Hank had gotten some intelligence about a supposed group of vampires taking up shop in an abandoned building. After scouting the place, I found out the intel was wrong but Hank wouldn't listen, accused me of wanting all the glory to myself. The son of a bitch hit me with a gun and knocked me out by surprise. By the time I had come to, he had already broken into the building and tortured a couple of kids, almost to their deaths. I kind of lost it and went postal on him. Damn near beat him to death myself. While I was pummeling him with my fists, I kept telling him how stupid he was, and how he should never have become a hunter, that he was nothing but a worthless piece of shit. Now because of me, your little brother is in the hands of a sadistic madman."

As he listened to the words his dad was saying, Dean felt like he was spinning in a whirlpool of emotions. It scared the crap out of him just knowing that Sammy had been kidnapped by a deranged madman, but then to find out that the man had tortured a couple of kids sent his stomach spiraling out of control. He tried to fight the bile rising in his throat, but was unable to do so. Gagging, he covered his mouth and ran for the motel bathroom and threw up all of the contents in his stomach.

As he talked, John could tell that his words were having a detrimental effect on Dean. He watched his son's face pale considerably once he had mentioned Hank torturing the two kids. He had almost stopped his spiel, but he knew Dean needed to hear everything since Sammy was now in the clutches of such a demented hunter. He had just finished telling his oldest everything when he heard Dean gag and saw him run for the bathroom. He felt like puking himself, but knew he needed to hold it together for the sake of his eldest. Following Dean into the bathroom, John knelt down beside Dean a he heaved up the contents of his stomach. "It's gonna be alright, we'll find him Dean. And when we do, that bastard is going to pay for even daring to lay a hand on one of my children.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 4**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Warning: ****Child abuse **in this chapter as Hank decides to teach Sammy a lesson. Also language as usual.

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**Previously: **_John knelt down beside Dean as he heaved up the contents of his stomach. "It's gonna be alright, we'll find him Dean. And when we do, that bastard is going to pay for even daring to lay a hand on one of my children._

After the heaving finally stopped, Dean wiped his mouth with the wet washcloth his father handed to him. "M'sorry sir" he said slightly embarrassed at the show of weakness in front of his father. The last thing his dad needed was him breaking down.

"No reason to be sorry Ace, I'm feeling kind of sick myself." John replied honestly not wanting Dean to think he was weak. Dean had every right to feel sick at his stomach. He knew how close the boys were, and to be honest, he envied the bond that they shared. He and Sammy just never seemed to see eye to eye and it had gotten worse over the past year. There was a tangible distance between the two of them and it filled John with guilt, especially now that Sammy was missing.

"What are we gonna do dad? We've got to find Sammy before that bastard does something horrible to him." Dean said with strong agitation evident in his voice.

"Bobby's checking into things for us and he's going to put the word out and see what he can find. I'm going to make some calls of my own and see if I can't find out some info..." John started to say but found himself cut off by the ringing of his cell phone. He wondered who in the hell would be calling him since the number was relatively new and only a few people knew it. Glancing at the dial, he didn't recognize the number that the call was coming from, but a deep sense of foreboding warned him that it was important that he answer it.

"Who is this and what do you want?" John inquired with a gruff voice irritated at the thought of someone getting his new number so easily.

"If I were you Winchester, I'd be a hell of a lot nicer to me seeing as how I have your snot nosed brat." Hank informed the oldest Winchester with an air of haughtiness.

"I swear to all that's holy, if you hurt my boy Reynolds, I'll..."

You'll what Winchester? Whether you like it or not, I'm the one with the ace in the hole so you better shut your frigging mouth and listen. We're gonna play a little game. It's called _**Find the Hunter**_**.** If you find me before the game's over, you win and get your son back. If it takes you too long, then you find the dead body of this smart mouthed pain in the ass you call your son.

"When I find you, I'm going to kill ya you son of a bitch." John snarled as his nerves got the better of him. How the hell could he be expected to play some damn game when his baby boy's life was at stake.

"Yeah, yeah." I've heard that already from little Sammy and had to bust his mouth for it to teach him a little respect." Hank replied with a satisfied smirk at the hiss of anger he heard coming from John's end of the phone. "Now shut up and listen to the rules of the game. Tomorrow night at eight o'clock, I will give you a call with the name of a location where you will pick up a parcel with a picture, tape, or video of Sammy. The item will contain a clue to where we have been. Each succeeding item will give a clue to the next location where you will find more clues to your son's whereabouts. You have seven days to find little Sammy. Each day you are unsuccessful, your brat pays the price. Now do you understand the rules of the game Winchester?"

"I understand this, I'm gonna..."

"Finish that sentence and Sammy receives a beating for your insubordination. I said do you UNDERSTAND the rules of the game?" Hank spat out viciously.

"Yes, I understand" John replied as he forced himself to stay calm praying that his youngest would not piss off Hank anymore than he already was. he could tell Hank was barely holding it together as it was and one little push could send him over the edge.

"Good, now that we understand each other, you will receive your first clue tomorrow night. Make sure you answer the phone within three rings or Sammy and I will have a little fun with a cattle prod." Hank stated before abruptly ending the call.

As Dean listened to the words his dad was saying, he knew immediately who was on the other end of the line. As he watched his father's face, his anxiety grew exponentially as he saw first anger and then fear radiating in his dad's eyes. He wondered what in the hell the man had threatened when he watched his dad take a deep breath to calm himself before saying he understood. Upon seeing his dad end the call, Dean couldn't hold his suspense any longer. "What did he say dad? Did he say if Sammy was alright?"

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Feeling superior in attitude after putting the mighty John Winchester in his place, Hank decided it was time to start terrorizing the kid while at the same time flaunting it in front of his family. Setting up the video camera hidden by the two way mirror and turning it on, he walked to the back room that now held his young prize. He smiled smugly as he watched the kid glaring at him while trying to back away from him at the same time, the kid had spunk--he would give him that. "You better hope your father is the awesome hunter you think he is kid because every night you spend with me, I get to have a little fun terrorizing you." Hank informed Sam as he held a leather belt in his hands stroking it with sadistic glee.

"My father is one hundred times the hunter you'll ever be." Sam retaliated as he eyed the belt that Hank was now popping with an ominous sound. He had no doubt he would probably pay for the remark, but he wasn't about to give into the man's taunts. Him and his dad might get on each others nerves and fight a lot, but damned if he would let anybody else put his father down, especially when the man would protect him with his life.

"After talking with your father, it's obvious where you get that smart mouth from boy. So I am going to teach you a lesson your father should have taught you a long time ago." Hank stated with an evil grin as he strode towards Sammy who was still shackled to the wall.

"Stay away from me you bastard." Sam growled as he kicked out with his leg trying to plant a solid kick to Hank's stomach only to have his foot knocked away by a swift sidearm.

"You'll have to do better than that kid if you think you're going to take me down." Hank informed Sam as he shoved him hard causing Sam's back and head to collide with the wall once again. He took glee in hearing the groan that escaped Sammy's mouth. What's the matter kid, that all you got?"

"Let me go you son of a bitch and you'll find out just what I'm capable of." Sam retorted as his chest heaved as he breathed heavily through his nose and mouth.

"Sorry kid, that's not what I have in mind." Hank replied as he delivered a solid punch to Sam's stomach casing him to double over from the pain. He quickly reached out and grabbed Sam by the nape of the neck and forced him to bend over the dirty mattress he had placed on the floor for Sam to sleep on. Placing a knee on Sam's back to keep him still, he raised the belt high and brought it down hard on Sam's jean clad behind.

Sam hissed in a sudden breath as he heard the belt swishing down through the air. He bit his bottom lip to keep from hollering out as the belt landed a blazing swat across the middle of his derriere. He barely had time to take a decent breath before he heard the swishing sound again followed instantly by an all consuming pain as it landed in the same spot as the first blow. "Ow" Sam whispered as he tried to hold back the tears as the third stripe of the belt landed.

"What's the matter kid? You got nothing to say now you little smartass?" Hank prodded as he brought the belt down for a fourth time.

"Yeah, go to hell you son of a…." Sam started to say only to be thrashed once again. This time he yelled out as the belt landed across the top part of his thighs making him feel like had gotten stung by a multitude of bees.

"That smartass remark gets you five more you insolent little brat." Hank bellowed as he brought the belt down five times in quick succession on Sam's vulnerable behind causing Sam to cry out in immense pain. Looking towards the two way camera and smiling, Hank gave the tape that was recording the beating he was administering a one fingered salute before finally standing up and releasing Sammy from his hold. "I hope you've learned your lesson boy. Either you keep your mouth shut or there's lots more of that to come." Hank informed the youngest Winchester before leaving the room.

Striding down the hallway, he walked into the room connecting to Sam's room and watched through the two way mirror as the youngest Winchester curled up into a ball and cried silently as he watched his shoulders shaking from trying to contain the tears. The kid was tough, no doubt about that, but he would break the little shit and make him beg and plead if it was the last thing he did.

Walking over to the video camera, Hank stopped the recording and pulled the tape out of it. He wished he could be there to see John's face when he watched his precious little Sammy, his favorite, being beaten with a belt. He had no doubts that Sammy was John's favorite after having witnessed how protective the elder was of the younger as he had watched them from afar over the past few weeks. Every time he saw them out in public, John physically tensed whenever anybody got within touching distance of the kid as did his big brother. Sure it would be unnoticeable to most people, but not to his hunter's trained eye. It was amazing to see quickly the youngest was shielded whenever the others sensed danger. Too bad they didn't realize the biggest danger to him was at the one place he should have been considered safe.

Quickly placing the tape in secure packaging along with the Polaroid picture, he sealed the brown padded envelope shut and then placed it in a metal box. Checking on his hostage once more, he closed the wrought iron door to the room where Sam was shackled and secured it before leaving and driving two hours over to another town. He located the local graveyard and found a secluded spot where he quickly dug a shallow grave and placed the metal box into it. He quickly refilled the grave and then scattered leaves over it to hide the disturbed area. Tomorrow night, he would call John with the coordinates of the grave telling him his first clue to finding his child would be hidden in the box. He literally shivered in excitement as he thought about finally being able to show that bastard Winchester who truly was the better hunter.

**TBC **


	5. Chapter 5

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 5**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Warning: **Language as usual, they are hunters you know.

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**Previously: **_Hank quickly refilled the grave and then scattered leaves over it to hide the disturbed area. Tomorrow night, he would call John with the coordinates of the grave telling him his first clue to finding his child would be hidden in the box. He literally shivered in excitement as he thought about finally being able to show that bastard Winchester who truly was the better hunter._

After returning to the cabin, Hank checked in on his young hostage to find the kid fitfully sleeping. He took delight in the fact that the kid was lying down on his stomach, knowing that he had applied the punishment well since young Sam wasn't sleeping on his back. He remembered many nights himself where he had been forced to sleep on his stomach after his dad had strapped him well. He couldn't begrudge the man though because it had forced him to grow up tough and made him the man he now was, one who was superior to most people.

Walking away from the room and it's occupant, he went into the kitchen to make himself something to eat. He hadn't had anything to eat since he kidnapped the brat and he was getting pretty damned hungry. He couldn't afford to stop along the way to the cabin to pick up something to eat knowing that Sam could have given them away by making noises. Turning the skillet on, he placed a t-bone steak into it and set the heat on low. He knew he should make something for Sam, but it wouldn't hurt the little bastard to go hungry for a while.

As he waited for the steak to cook, Hank walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. It had been a long day and he was tired. He was looking forward to getting a good night's sleep, especially knowing that none of the Winchesters would. He smiled at the thought of John tossing and turning all night long wondering what was happening to his youngest. Maybe he should make another call to the man, let him talk to his youngest and hear the pain the kid was in. Taking a big swig of the whiskey, Hank thought about what he would do to hurt the kid tomorrow night. He had gained a lot of instruments of torture over the years and he had fun killing the supernatural creatures that had crossed his path. Sighing, he remembered telling John that he and Sammy would have a little fun with a cattle prod so cattle prod it would have to be.

Once his steak was finished cooking, Hank took it out of the skillet and placed it on the plate along with the baked potato he had cooked in the microwave. Using his steak knife, he cut off a big chunk of the meat and savored the taste of it as it practically melted in his mouth since it was so tender. Hearing a moaning sound coming from the back of the room, he yelled out, "Shut your damned mouth or I'll give you another beating worse than the one you just had." He smiled as he was greeted by the sound of silence once again. At least he could instill fear into the kid with the threat of belting him again.

Finally finishing his meal, Hank staggered to his room and fell haphazardly onto his bed. He kicked off his shoes and lay down to sleep, dreaming of the time when he and the mighty John Winchester would meet face to face. He snickered in his drunken state as he thought of how badly he was going to kick the man's ass.

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As John lay awake in his bed that night, he wondered what Sammy was going through right now. He knew the kid was hurting after the remark Hank had made about busting his mouth and teaching him a lesson. It pained him to see the look on Dean's face earlier when he had to tell him about what had happened after getting off the phone. Dean had went ballistic and he had to physically restrain him for thirty minutes to keep him from wrecking the motel room. He couldn't blame Dean for wanting to vent his anger as he really needed to do it himself too. He felt guilty for sedating his oldest without his knowledge earlier, but he knew Dean would slowly drive himself insane over night with worry for his baby brother.

Rolling over onto his side, he could see that Dean's sleep was anything but peaceful with the way his head tossed every so often. He had no doubt that he was mostly likely dreaming about Sammy since his boys had a bond that transcended them being together. They each knew when the other was hurting and in trouble and that was now plaguing Dean's dreams. For the sake of Dean's sanity as well as Sammy's health, he prayed that they would be able to find his youngest soon.

"I swear to you were gonna get him back kiddo." John whispered to his oldest as he looked at Dean's sleeping form once more. "And when we do, that bastard Reynolds is going to pay for every single pain he's inflicted on Sammy. I swear it on your mother's grave." Closing his eyes, he tried to sleep but found himself witnessing images of Sammy being abused and hurt. Unable to lay there any longer, he climbed out of the bed, pulled on his jeans and silently walked out the door, leaving it cracked so he could hear if Dean woke up. Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he pulled out his cell phone and scanned the dial. Pressing the send button, he held the phone to his ear and waited for the other person to pick up. He waited through five rings when he heard the gruff voice on the other end.

"_Winchester, you better have a damned good reason for waking me up at three in the morning."_

I know it's late Caleb and I'm sorry, but we need your help." John stated knowing that he could use all the help he could get.

"_What the hell is so all fire important that it couldn't wait until morning?" _Caleb grumbled through a yawn.

Sammy's been kidnapped by that psycho Hank Reynolds. He's threatened to torture my boy Caleb." John replied shakily in answer to the question.

"_Son of a bitch." _Snarled Caleb as he became instantly awake upon hearing of the danger that the youngest Winchester was in. _"Where are you? I'll swing by and pick Joshua up and we'll get out your way as quick as we can." _Caleb informed John over the phone.

John gave Caleb the coordinates and then hung up the phone knowing they would soon have help in tracking down the monster who had his kid. Walking back into the room, he sat down at the table and booted up the laptop he had given Sam for his birthday last year. With a little luck, maybe he could find some tax records or something on Hank Reynolds giving them an idea of where to start their search.

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Sam awoke early the next morning and glanced around in desolation to find that his being kidnapped wasn't just a dream, that he had in fact been snatched from his family brought to the place where he now was. As he sat gingerly on the filthy mattress due to his sensitive and welted behind, he began to shiver from the lack of heat in the cabin. Hank had neglected to give him a blanket last night and the man had taken his jacket and shirts from him when they had first arrived. The more alert he became however, the more aware he was of other things such as his hunger.

He winced in discomfort as his stomach made itself known with a rather loud rumble. He hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime on the day of his kidnapping and smelling the food that Hank had cooked last night only made his hunger worse. Beginning to feel a little weak, he reached into his pocket hoping to find a pack of Lifesavers or something to stem off the wave of nausea that was beginning to build after not having anything to eat. He groaned upon realizing that his pockets were empty. That bastard Hank had gone through his pockets while he was unconscious and emptied them of everything including his wallet.

Standing up once again, he walked over to the sink and turned it on to get a sip of water, maybe that would help to quell his stomach some. He felt the chain tugging on his wrist and had to reach out with his left hand to turn on the faucet. He gagged in disgust however at watching the putrid brown water that flowed from the spigot, no way was he drinking that. Damn, why did everything have to be against him? Hearing the sound of booted feet coming down the hallway, he backed up against the wall as he waited for Hank to make his appearance.

"Well, well, well, the little pain in the ass is awake." Hank laughed at the joke he had just made. "Get it boy…_pain in the ass_?" He sneered as Sam ignored the jibe and refused to answer him. It pissed him off that the kid was still being stubborn and defiant. "Too good to answer me huh, well that little show of defiance just cost you your breakfast boy."

"M'not hungry anyway." Sam lied as he glared at the psychotic hunter. Even if Hank would have made him breakfast, he wouldn't have chanced eating it knowing that he could have drugged the food or something.

"Keep pushing it boy and I'll have to teach you another lesson about minding that smart mouth of yours." Hank stated with spit flying from his mouth. If there was one thing he couldn't stand it was an insolent smart mouthed teenager. Kids these days had no respect for their elders.

Knowing that if he pushed things much further he would receive a severe beating, Sam decided to keep his mouth shut. He had to stay as healthy as possible if he were to have a chance of making an escape if the chance arose.

"That's better" Hank said figuring he had won the latest round. "As soon as I eat, you and I are going outside to set a little trap to welcome your family when they come looking for you. Of course we will be long gone by then." Hank informed Sam with an evil grin. He had a network of sadistic friends who owned secluded cabins in the woods across the country. He was going to lead John Winchester on one hell of a chase for his boy. Of course the chase would end with him killing Sam right in front of his dad's eyes.

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Later that evening, John hear a knock upon the door and pulled his gun from the back of his jeans as he motioned Dean to stand ready on the opposite side of the room. He aimed his gun, ready to fire when he called out, "Doors open, come on in."

"We will once we know it's safe to do so." Caleb called back knowing that if he eased that door opened, he chanced having his head blown off.

Making a sigh of relief, John reached out and pulled the door open. "Thanks for coming." he said as he reached out to shake the hunters offered hands before standing back for them to enter the room.

"How the hell was that psycho Reynolds able to get his hands on Sammy?" Joshua questioned knowing how well the kid was usually protected by his family.

"He was kidnapped from school. Somehow or other, Hank ended up as a substitute coach and figured out who Sammy was. I can't believe I didn't know the son of a bitch was in town." John groaned as he ran a weary hand through his coarse beard.

"Don't go blaming yourself John. Hank's a hunter too so he knew how to cover his tracks, but now that we're on to him, we'll make sure he pays for taking our little tiger." Caleb stated with conviction.

"He's not so little anymore." Dean stated with a sad smile from missing his brother so much. "Sammy is as tall as I am now, hell probably just a smidgen taller."

"Damn, guess it's been a while since I've seen you boys." Caleb stated surprised to find out how tall Sam had gotten. "Don't worry Dean, he's a Winchester. Sammy will do whatever it takes to keep himself safe until we find him, and we will find him, I promise you that."

"Yeah, but what shape will he be in?" Dean questioned with a quiver to his voice. "The bastard's threatened to torture him, told dad he's already busted his mouth for being a smart ass."

"Sounds like our Sammy." Joshua stated wistfully before his eyes turned cold. "That freak better pray I don't get my hands on him, I'll kill the son of a bitch for daring to hurt the kid."

Suddenly the sound of John's phone ringing made the room grow deathly quiet. John glanced at the others before raising the phone to his ear after the second ring. "Where's my son?"

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 6**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Warning: **Language as usual, they are hunters you know.

**Author's Note: If you haven't already…Check out Criminally Charmed's tag to **_**The Monster at the End of this Book**_**…it is hilarious…roll on the floor laughing good!!!! **

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**Previously: **_Suddenly the sound of John's phone ringing made the room grow deathly quiet. John glanced at the others before raising the phone to his ear after the second ring. "Where's my son?"_

"Now you hold on just a damn minute Winchester. I'm the boss here, not you. And to teach you a lesson for that insubordination, I'm just going to have to cause Sammy here a little pain." Hank spoke angrily into the phone as he glared at the kid in front of him.

"No, wait, please don't hurt him! You're the boss, I'll do whatever you say." John pleaded as he gripped the phone hard enough to make his knuckles turn white.

"Too late Winchester. You need to listen to what happens when you don't know your place." Hank stated as he placed the phone on the floor and strutted over towards a still bound Sammy. "You have your father to thank for what's about to happen to you boy." Hank informed Sam as he prepared to deliver the punishment by cracking the knuckles on both hands.

'Stay away from me you son of a bitch." Sam spat out as he did a side sweep with his left leg trying to knock Hank's feet out from under him.

"Sorry kid, but you'll have to do better than that to take down a hunter like me." Hank stated as he swung hard with his left fist and punched Sammy hard in the face as his right fist swung forward and caught him in the stomach causing the kid to collapse to his knees. Grinning in satisfaction, he raised his foot forward swung it towards Sammy's ribs. The blow failed to connect however as Sam deflected the blow with his forearm and then grabbed the foot and gave it a hard yank.

"Son of a bitch." Hank grumbled as he stumbled and almost fell only managing to catch himself by his close proximity to the wall. "You'll pay for that one you little bastard." Hank swore as he walked over to the table that held his little instruments of torture and picked up the cattle prod laying upon it, ready to deliver the punishment.

As John listened to what was happening on the other end of the phone line, he could feel terror for his youngest son taking hold of him while at the same time feeling just a touch of pride that Sammy was fighting back. Upon hearing the obvious sound of a fist colliding with skin, John began to physically tremble from the rage he felt at not being there to keep Sammy from being hurt. He soon felt panic rising in his chest when after the sounds of a scuffle, he heard Hank threaten to make Sammy pay for something. "Oh god Sammy, please stop whatever you're doing." John whispered knowing just how psychotic Hank was and that if pushed to far, the man would kill him on the spot.

As Dean watched the many emotions crossing his dad's face, he felt helpless at not knowing what was going on. Whatever Hank Reynolds was saying to his dad, it had to be bad. His fears took hold when he witnessed his dad beginning to tremble knowing that the man didn't scare easily. "Dad?" he stated questioningly after hearing his father whisper for Sammy to stop whatever he was doing. He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder in support and looked to see Caleb standing beside him with a sympathetic look on his face. He was about to ask exactly what was going on when he saw the color drain from his dad's face as Sammy's screams were heard by all coming through the phone.

*****Torture scene ahead *** **

Sam gazed fearfully as Hank approached him with a long wooden object with metallic prongs sticking out on the end knowing exactly what the instrument was. "Don't touch me you freak." he hollered just before Hank applied the cattle prod to his leg holding it there and forcing his leg to spasm uncontrollably while the electrical current shot through it. He screamed out from the intense pain that overtook him and backed away from the psychotic hunter until his back hit the wall.

"What's the matter Sammy boy, no where else to go?" Hank taunted as he drew closer to Sam once again and this time held the cattle prod to Sam's groin area eliciting a high pitched scream as Sam convulsed from the pain to his private region. It took only just a few short moments for Sam's overtaxed system to succumb to the pain and he fell blissfully into unconsciousness with his body still jerking in spasms from the after effects of the shock.

Smiling evilly in satisfaction at the unconscious lad before him, Hank walked over and picked up the phone. In a calm voice, he said, "You have six more days to find your youngest son Winchester. Your first clue to finding him will be found in Sterling, Colorado at the local city cemetery in the northeast corner of the graveyard. Follow the clues from there and just remember, for every night the kid is with me, I will have fun torturing him just a little bit more." With those parting words, Hank hung up the phone and kicked a still unconscious Sam in the ribs before walking away.

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John stood shaking in rage, tears trailing from his eyes as he dropped his cell phone to the floor. "I'm going to kill that f*cking bastard with my bare hands for what he's done to my baby." He seethed as he turned around and punched the wall beside him hard enough to put his hand through the plaster. "When we finally find him, he's mine and nobody else's, everybody understand?"

Nodding their heads in agreement, Joshua and Caleb couldn't help but feel sorry for the man standing before them after the screams that they had heard emanating from the phone. Having no children of their own, they couldn't even begin to imagine what John was going through knowing that his child was being tortured and that there was nothing he could do about it.

"You mean he's ours dad. No freaking way am I missing out on getting payback to that bastard for what he is doing to my baby brother. I'm going to make sure he knows what pain is before we finally grant him the death he deserves." Dean stated as his fists clenched in anger.

Looking at his oldest, John fully understood his need to be included in taking down Hank Reynolds. Dean and Sammy were very close and Dean had basically been the one who raised Sammy while he was out meeting his need to kill every supernatural thing he could get his hands on in revenge for Mary's death while Sammy was growing up. "He's ours" John agreed.

Needing to know what John had learned from the conversation, Joshua asked "We're you able to gleam anything from the conversation about where the bastard could possibly be holding Sammy?" He figured it was best to query John while the conversation was still fresh in John's mind.

"The psychotic bastard is playing a game with me." John stated as he looked Joshua and Caleb in the eyes. "He so much as told me where to find the first clue to lead us in the right direction."

"I'm not surprised." Caleb stated knowingly. "That man is crazy enough to think he's the best hunter in the world. Of course you know he will be laying traps along the way hoping that one of them will eventually snare you and make for an easier kill."

"Oh, I don't doubt that for a minute, but he doesn't know my kid. Sammy will leave some kind of clue to keep us from walking into one." John stated as he started loading his gear in his duffle bag. "We've got to get to Sterling Colorado. Reynolds planted the first clue at the local city cemetery there in a shallow grave." It took only moments for the hunters to pack their things before they were on the road once again, tearing up the pavement in their need to get to the cemetery.

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Sam awoke to pain as he lay on the filthy mattress in his cell. He tried to move but gasped as pain shot through his groin area. "Oh god it hurts, Dad, Dean, where are you?" he whispered as he wiped away the tear that silently slid down his face in case his tormentor came walking back in. Feeling a little pain in his hands, he looked down at them to see the raw blisters that had formed on parts of his hand after he had been forced to dig some shallow pits earlier leading up to the cabin. Hank had placed some sharp wooden stakes in them and then forced him to camouflage them. Knowing the traps were meant for his family, he had pretended to stumble and fall. As he pushed himself back to his feet, he had pulled a big chunk of the grass out hoping that either his dad or Dean would notice it and be wary of the area. Hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching, he pretended to still be unconscious. Sam tried not to tense as he heard Hank unlocking the bars and come walking into the room. The next thing he knew, he started sputtering as Hank threw a bucket full of the putrid water on him drenching his face and bare chest.

"Get up you lazy good for nothing little shit." Hank ordered as he watched Sam sputter and choke. "It's time we get the hell out of here before your family comes looking for you." When Sam didn't move fast enough for him, Hank grabbed him by the arm and jerked him up causing Sam to hiss in pain. "What's the matter boy, you feeling a little pain in your lower regions?" he asked with a cruel smile.

"Nothing compared to what you're going to feel when my dad gets his hands on you." Sam answered as he tried to pull his arm out of the bruising grip Hank had on him.

"Oh my, you've got me so scared, I'm just shivering in my boots." retorted Hank sarcastically at the threat as he led Sam out the front door of the cabin and to the back of his car carefully avoiding the traps they had set earlier in the day. "Time to go for another ride." he informed Sam as he motioned for him to climb into the trunk,

"Hell no, you're not getting me in there again." Sam stated as he started struggling to get free again. He raised his left foot and brought the heel of his shoe down hard on Hank's foot as he swiveled around and have him a quick upper cut to the jaw with his fist. The unexpected blow caused Hank to release his arm and Sam took off stumbling towards the wooded area as quick as he could.

"You're going to pay for that." Hank screamed as he pulled his gun from the back of his jeans as Sam was nearing the tree line. He couldn't allow the kid to disappear into the forested area for fear of not being able to find him again. Taking aim on Sam's leg, he squeezed the trigger and watched a second later as Sam fell to the ground clutching his leg in agony. "Serves you right you little bastard." he spat out as he jogged over to where Sam was now struggling to stand up.

"Pull another stunt like that, and I'll put the next bullet through your heart." Hank stated coldly as he unceremoniously hoisted a panting Sam to his feet and dragged him back towards the car. Picking him up, he placed Sam into the trunk and bound his hands and feet together before checking on the bullet wound in Sam's right leg. Seeing that it was only a flesh wound, he applied a pressure bandage to it and then taped Sam's mouth shut with some duct tape. "Enjoy the ride kid." he stated as he slammed the trunk leaving Sam in pitch blackness. Climbing into the front of the vehicle, he started the engine and pulled away from the cabin, it was time to get to their next destination.

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After a few hours of tense driving, John and the others finally arrived at Branch Hill Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Sterling, Colorado. They quickly made their way to the northeast corner of the graveyard with some shovels and started scanning for signs of recently disturbed earth. As they looked, each hunter used their feet to scatter the leaves that covered the ground from what must have been a recent windstorm.

"Yahtzee" hollered Dean as he found the shallow grave and began to scoop away the dirt. Joined by his dad, it only took them five minutes to unearth the box that Hank had planted into the ground. Pulling his lockpick set from his jacket, John worked on the lock and had it opened in a scant forty five seconds.

Taking a brief look at the others concerned faces, he carefully lifted the lid of the box to find a yellow envelope. He quickly tore it opened and emptied it of it's contents to find a picture of Sammy sporting a black eye and a bruised, swollen and bloodied lip and a video tape. Turning the picture over, he read the note that was taped to the back. _Enjoy the video and pay particular attention to the music in the background. If you're as smart as you think you are, it should give you a hint as to where we were. _Glancing up at the others once again, John said, "We need to find a room with a TV and VCR."

**TBC _So how will John react when he watched the video of Sam being beaten?_ HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRIS, **This chapter is dedicated to you!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 7**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while. I also do not own the song _Rocky Mountain High_

**Warning: **Language as usual, they are hunter you know.

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**Previously: **_Enjoy the video and pay particular attention to the music in the background. If you're as smart as you think you are, it should give you a hint as to where we were. _Glancing up at the others once again, John said, "We need to find a room with a TV and VCR."

Knowing that motels usually didn't have VCR's in the room, John and the others stopped by the local discount store and purchased one before meeting up with Bobby at a run down sleazy looking motel out in the middle of nowhere. Bobby had rented the room there because he feared that what was on the video would lead to a violent outburst by one or both of the Winchesters and he didn't want the police involved. He waited for the hunters to enter and then locked the door behind them. It took only a few seconds for Dean to locate the television and turn it on and for Joshua to start hooking the VCR up to the small set.

Taking a deep breath, John popped the tape into the VCR with trembling hands. The hunters all sat in silence near the television as they waited for the tape to begin. "Sammy" Dean whispered as soon as he saw his baby brother sitting on a filthy mattress with a shackle attached to one of his wrists as the song Rocky Mountain High began to play in the background. Dean clenched his fists when he saw Sam tense up on the tape and start to back away as Hank walked into the room and taunted his baby brother about praying that John was a better hunter. They all took satisfaction in hearing Sammy retort _"My father is one hundred times the hunter you'll ever be."_

"You tell him kiddo" Caleb voiced as he glanced at John and Dean noticing the tension in both of their bodies. Each one was strung tight and Caleb wondered how long it would be before they blew their tops! He heard both Winchesters hiss and then turned to see Hank popping a belt ominously in his hands. "Don't you freaking touch him with that thing." Dean yelled as he placed his head in his hands and began to rock in agitation of what he knew was to come with Hank having threatened to teach him a lesson. Tears flooded Dean's eyes as he heard Sammy growl out _"Stay away from me you bastard_." He took little satisfaction in watching Sammy kick out trying to stop Hank from approaching knowing it was only going to cause his little brother more pain.

"Oh God, please no." John pleaded as he watched Hank slam Sammy against the wall hard enough to daze his youngest. He felt proud that his youngest was fighting back and mouthing off at the hunter, but it scared him to death at the same time knowing that Sammy was going to pay for what he was doing. Tears soon flooded his eyes also as he watched Sammy get punched viciously in the stomach before being forced to lie stomach down on the repulsive looking mattress.

"No stop damn you." Dean gritted out as he watched the belt being raised for the first time and he physically flinched when the belt connected with Sammy's jean clad behind. "I'm going to f*cking kill you" he hollered at the TV screen when the belt came down a second time causing Sammy to whimper in pain.

Bobby looked over to see John's fists clenched so hard that his knuckles were turning white. Focusing back on the television screen, he heard Sammy groan _"yeah, go to hell you son of a…" _before watching the belt land this time on the top part of Sammy's thighs causing the youngest Winchester to yell out in severe pain. Seconds later, Hank had just informed Sam that he was going to get five more vicious licks when two things happened at once. John stood up quickly and fled to the bathroom violently releasing the contents of his stomach while Dean went ballistic and started sweeping things off of the dresser with his arms and smashing the lamps against the wall as he screamed out in primal rage.

"I'm going to f*cking rip him limb from limb. That bastard is going to pay for putting Sammy through such a degrading pain. Hell, I'm going to make him feel that belt on his bare ass when I get my hands on him and I won't stop beating him until there's no flesh left on his f*cking ass." Dean raged as he put his fist through a wall and then kicked another hole in it with his steel toed boot.

Caleb quickly turned the television off as Joshua tried to calm Dean down by wrapping his arms around him and dragging him to the floor to sit. He was afraid that Dean would hurt himself with the way his temper was exploding. Joshua took no offense in the way Dean was cursing at him to let go and calling him ever name in the book knowing he didn't mean the words he was saying. He held on tight as Dean tried to break free of the bear hold that was keeping him immobilized.

In the bathroom, John had just finished throwing up the contents of his stomach and was standing in front of the bathroom sink. He took just a moment to rinse his mouth and then glanced into the bathroom mirror before shattering it with his fist. "Damn you to hell Reynolds" he spat as he shook his now injured fist in pain. He took in a hitched breath as he watched Bobby approach him from the side and grab his hand.

"These glass shards are going to have to come out John." Bobby informed him trying to project a state of calmness hoping to keep John from exploding worse than he already had.

"No, S'fine. I'm not the one we need to worry about" John gritted out through clenched teeth. The little bit of pain he was feeling at the moment didn't compare to what he knew Sammy had to be feeling.

"John, you're going to need that fist to beat the living hell out of Reynolds when we finally catch up to him so let me take care of it." Bobby stated as he held Johns hand under the water to rinse off the blood. He called out to Caleb to get him his first aid kit as he led John out of the bathroom and over to one of the beds to sit down.

"Dad?" Dean questioned as he finally calmed down enough to see the way his father was cradling his injured hand.

"It's nothing Dean, M'okay" John answered as he took in the way that his son was being held immobile in a bear hug. Glancing around the room, he took in the devastation that his oldest had caused before saying, "He'll be fine now Joshua, you can let him go."

Nodding his head, Joshua released Dean who walked over to the bed and sat down beside his dad as Bobby started pulling shards of glass from his hand with the tweezers. They sat solemnly together as they watched the grizzled hunter remove the shards with expert precision, each needing to be close to the other. Bobby had just pulled out the last of the shards when he quietly intoned, "I think I might know where our next clue to finding Sammy is."

"What? How? I mean…" John questioned hopefully as Bobby wrapped some gauze around his hand after cleaning the cuts and securing it with medical tape.

"Where Bobby, where's my baby brother?" Dean questioned anxiously cutting off his stunned father wondering why Bobby had waited so long to say anything, but not voicing his thoughts.

"Well, Reynolds wrote on the picture that we were to listen closely to the music playing in the background right?" Bobby questioned.

"Yeah" Josh answered wondering where Bobby was going with his line of thinking.

"Just think about it. The song that was playing in the background is called _Rocky Mountain High_. And in the song, there is a part where the lyrics say something about climbing the cathedral mountains. "

"I still don't get where you're going with this." Caleb said giving the grizzled hunter a questioning gaze.

"What I'm trying to point out is that there is a chain of hunters cabins that are used throughout the United States for less than savory activities shall we say, and one of them is located in the Cathedral Mountains."

"Holy crap, that's just a few hours away from here." Caleb stated as he began packing away what little stuff they had carried into the room with them knowing that John would want to get on the road as soon as possible. In less than five minutes, the hunters had loaded up in their respective vehicles and headed off down the highway with Bobby taking lead, each hoping that they were just hours away from rescuing young Sammy.

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Sam grunted in pain for what must have been the fiftieth time as he was tossed about in the trunk of Hank's car. It felt like he had been in there for frigging forever and his whole body was beginning to ache from being cramped up in the confined space. Trying to squirm around to loosen his bindings, he felt a sharp flair of pain in the thigh where he had been shot. The bullet wound had been throbbing for a little while now and he wondered if it was becoming infected. Feeling the car come to a stop, Sam tensed as he waited for his captor to open the trunk not knowing where they were or what was going to happen to him this time.

"So did you have a nice ride brat?" Hank queried as he reached in and grabbed Sam's bicep and forcefully pulled him up to a sitting position. He laughed as Sam glared at him, unable to talk through the duct tape that was still covering his mouth. "Ya know, I think I like you this way. Maybe I'll leave that filthy mouth of yours taped shut from now on." Hank said as he pulled a knife from his boot causing Sam to become instantly jittery wondering what he was going to do.

"Jeez kid, jumpy much?" Hank stated as he reached down to cut the ropes binding Sam's legs. He didn't feel like carrying the pain in the ass kid into their latest hideaway. He helped Sam out of the trunk and then laughed once again as the sudden weight on his injured leg caused it to buckle from under him sending him crashing to the ground. Kicking Sam in the ribs, he said, "Get your lazy ass up our I'll have to teach you another lesson about falling down on the job."

Sam struggled to get to his feet, unable to use his hands since they were still bound behind him. Unable to do so, he gasped in pain as Hank yanked him up by his arm hard enough to dislodge his shoulder out of joint. He felt beads of sweat immediately pop out on his forehead as he began to sway.

"Quit being such a damned wimp." Hank ordered grasping Sam's arm and wrenching the shoulder back into joint without giving him any advanced warning, cursing when it caused his young captive to pass out. "Damn it, you sure are weak for a Winchester." he stated before hoisting the unconscious teen over his shoulder and carrying him inside their latest hideaway. Unceremoniously dumping Sam onto the floor, he removed the rug that covered the entrance to the hidden basement and pulled open keyed in the code and watched as a panel slid back allowing him access to the stairs. Picking Sam up once again, he carried him into the basement and shackled him to the bed of his latest cell. While fastening the shackle around Sam ankle, he noticed the angry looking wound in Sam's thigh. "Gonna have to take care of that" he said not wanting Sam to die before he was finished with playing the game.

**TBC **


	8. Chapter 8

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 8**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Warning: **Language as usual, they are hunter you know.

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**Previously: **_While fastening the shackle around Sam's ankle, he noticed the angry looking wound in Sam's thigh. "Gonna have to take care of that" he said not wanting Sam to die before he was finished with playing the game. _

After returning upstairs to grab the first aid kit and a bottle of whiskey, Hank made his way back down the steps and over to his semi-conscious captive who was now moaning on the bed. Sitting on the edge of the small bed, he grabbed the right pant leg of Sam's jeans and sliced it with his hunting knife slicing it all the way down. "You ready for a little more pain?" Hank questioned a groggy Sammy just before dousing the angry looking wound with whiskey, causing the kid to scream in pain as the fire burning in his leg brought him to full awareness immediately.

"You son of a bitch, I'm going to kill you." Sam seethed through clenched teeth as he tried to breathe through the pain that had taken hold in his leg. He couldn't stop the tears that started to roll silently down his face from the agony of having alcohol poured into the raw wound.

"Jeez kid do you realize just how tired I am of hearing that empty threat. We both know that you're the one who is going to eventually die so just shut your damned mouth for once will ya." Hank scolded as he rubbed some ointment onto Sam's leg and then wrapped it up with some sterile gauze wrapping.

As Sam watched the crazed coach wrapping his leg, he couldn't fathom why on earth the man was so suddenly concerned with his health. After all, he was the one who had shot him, beaten him, and electrocuted him with the cattle prod so what suddenly caused the big change. "Why? Why are you all of the sudden helping me?" He asked needing to know what the demented man's reasoning was.

"It's simple kid, I don't want you dying on me before I've had my fun. I have so much more planned for you and that bastard you call your father. I will not be denied my pleasure by you succumbing to a damn gun shot wound." Hank answered as he finished wrapping the leg and tying it off. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a bottle of Tylenol and threw it at Sam. "There's two pills left in there. Get 'em out while I go get you some water." He ordered Sam as he walked over to the sink in the corner of the room and got a Styrofoam cup of water.

Sam took out the pills happy to see that they were the white caplets emblazoned with the Tylenol name. Hopefully they would be safe to take and maybe with a little luck, they would relieve some of the pain. When Hank returned to him, he accepted the cup of water since he had watched him get it out of the tap and swallowed down the pills with it. "Thanks." He mumbled genuinely meaning it.

Don't thank me you stinking brat. I'm just looking out for my own happiness." Hank said as he walked back up the steps and keyed in the code that would open the sliding trap door once again leaving Sam on his own. The less time he spent around the kid the better, well unless of course it was to do a little torturing. And with his health the way it was right now, he would have to refrain from hurting him too much right now or chance the kid dying before he was ready for him to.

After Hank left him, Sam took the time to glance around his latest holding cell. It had no windows and was mainly bare except for the toilet area in the far left corner where even the lid and seat had been removed to keep him from being able to fashion any kind of weapon from it. The sink had only one faucet and he assumed it only gave cold water negating his chance of scalding his captor.

As he shivered a little from the coldness, he was happy to see the ratty looking blanket that lay at the bottom of the bed. Hopefully it would be enough to keep him warm for however long the crazed coach held him in his newest prison. With nothing to do but think, Sam gently lay down on the bed and got as comfortable as possible with his injured shoulder and leg and pulled the blanket up over him. It smelled musty, like it hadn't been washed in years, but he could deal with that as long as it gave him a little warmth.

Closing his eyes, he thoughts began to drift to his family. He wondered what was going through their minds right now. He knew Dean was most likely going out of his mind since they were hardly ever separated from each other. He hoped Dean wasn't blaming himself for what had happened since there was no way they could have known that he was in danger at the school. As for his dad, even though they had been arguing a lot lately, he knew his father must be going out of his mind with worry. He was well aware of how his dad and Dean automatically placed themselves between him and possible danger when on a hunt, so there was no doubt in his mind that his dad loved him, they just didn't see eye to eye sometimes.

"I miss you dad and Dean. Please find me soon." He whispered aloud as he closed his eyes in exhaustion and faded off to sleep with hopes that this would all be over soon.

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As John drove the Impala down the long and winding dirt road of the Cathedral Mountains, his fingers thumped the steering wheel in nervous anticipation of what he was going to find. Would Hank still be there with his baby boy? Was tonight the night that they would finally get Sammy back? Would Sammy even be alive? Damn it, why couldn't Bobby drive any faster, he was going frigging nuts with all the thoughts running through his mind. Seeing Bobby pull over to the side of the road up ahead, he pulled the sleek, black Impala behind him and turned off the engine. He threw open the door and climbed out as Dean did the same from the passenger side of the car.

"Bobby?" He queried as he walked up the gruff hunter, hands in his jacket pockets as he scanned the surrounding area up ahead.

"The cabin is jut a few hundred feet that way." Bobby pointed off to the east as he waited for Joshua and Caleb to walk up to them also. Once the others had joined them. Bobby said, "I figured we better stop here so as not to alert Hank of our presence just in case he is still holding Sam at the cabin. The cabin is nestled off in the middle of a bunch of trees and is surrounded by protective wards so hopefully everything is okay in that regard. The windows to the cabin are made of shatter proof glass so the only way into it is through the door. Knowing Hank and the way his demented mind works, we'll have to be careful on our approach. I'm sure he's planned something for our arrival."

The hunters started off silently towards the cabin with John, Dean and Bobby planning on entering from the front while Caleb and Joshua covered the back end of the cabin. Moving stealthily through the trees, each man kept a watch for any little thing that seemed out of place. They couldn't take the chance of setting off some kind of trip alarm or one of them getting hurt because they had become careless. Even though Dean understood the reasons for moving slow and carefully, it still irked him that Sammy could be so close, but yet so far away.

As they neared the edge of the pines, the hunters all knelt down as they surveyed the cabin and grounds ahead of them. Everything looked quiet, but they knew how deceptive looks could be, especially when it came to hunters. They thrived on making things look ordinary when they were going in for the kill. Seeing no signs of danger, John started moving ahead with Bobby and Dean flanking him on each side, each hunter praying that Hank would not be anywhere near the windows. John was about to take another step forward when Dean suddenly placed a hand in front of his chest warning him to stop.

"What is it Dean?" John questioned anxiously, ready to get to the cabin to see if his youngest was inside.

Dean pointed to an area of the ground that looked as if it had had the grass ripped from its roots recently. "Dad, I think that might be a warning from Sammy." Dean said as he closely examined the area.

"Dean its just an area where some grass has been ripped away. That could have been caused by a ground mole or any number of things." John informed his oldest knowing that a hundred different things could explain the small missing patch of grass.

"I'm telling you dad, it's Sammy. Do you remember that hunt in the backwoods of Arkansas when we all got separated because of that black bear that surprised us?"

"Yeah, I remember we found each other pretty quickly, but that Sammy was nowhere to be seen. We both started searching a grid pattern until you found him about two hours later huddled near a log and in tears since he was only ten years old then." John stated remembering the time that nearly scared the life out of him.

"Dad, I found Sammy because I started following a path where the grass had been ripped out every so many feet. Sammy led me too him dad by laying a trail that I could follow." Dean said as he stared his father in the eyes.

"Holy crap Dean, you never told me that." John stated as they all began to search the ground more intently. Picking up a long stick, they began to scatter the leaves on the ground ahead. They had only moved approximately five feet when they came upon a small pit lined with wooden stakes that had very sharp tips.

"Son of a bitch, that could have mangled one of our legs." John stated as he rubbed a calloused hand along his jaw.

"The son of a bitch is trying to make sure that we won't have a snowball's chance in hell of rescuing Sam before he can force us to watch him hurt or kill the kid" Bobby swore as he pulled his ball cap off his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, well, he'll wish he were in Hell when I get my hands on him." Dean seethed thinking about all the things he wanted to do to make the hunter pay for the pain he was putting his baby brother through. One way or another, Hank was going to pay and pay with his life if Dean had anything to say about it.

"Simmer down Dean, keep your mind focused on the hunt. We can't afford to get careless." John warned though he knew Dean already knew that. He knew how much it was taking out of his oldest not to have Sammy safe and sound with them.

"Yes Sir." Dean stated automatically as his eyes began scanning the area ahead once again.

As the hunters moved steadily forward, they uncovered four more spiked pits before finally making their way to the front door. John and Bobby covered Dean who was able to pick the lock in seconds. The hunters eased open the door and quietly made their way inside as they communicated silently with hand signals. After a twenty minute search, they were disappointed to find that Sammy was no longer on the premises.

"Damn it." John swore as he punched the wall in front of him. "There's no telling where they've gone off to now. How in the hell are we supposed to find my baby boy now?"

"Calm down John, I'm sure Hank left some kind of clue leading to their whereabouts. If there's one thing he is counting on, it's you finding Sam so he can torture him right in front of your very eyes." Bobby stated as he watched Joshua and Caleb enter the cabin.

"Bobby's right John, we need to do a thorough search and see what we can come up with." Joshua said as he placed a hand on John's shoulder. "Why don't you and Dean take a breather while the rest of us search the cabin."

"Yeah, I think we'll do that, thanks." John said as he wrapped an arm around Dean's shoulders and led him back outside. They needed the time to pull themselves together after the disappointment of not finding Sammy.

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 9**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Warning: **Language as usual, they are hunter you know.

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**Previously: **_"Yeah, I think we'll do that, thanks." John said as he wrapped an arm around Dean's shoulders and led him back outside. They needed the time to pull themselves together after the disappointment of not finding Sammy._

"Dad what the hell are we going to do? There's no telling where that bastard has taken Sammy or what he's doing to him right now." Dean said as he paced the yard in agitation in front of the cabin.

"We're going to find him Dean, we've just hit a road block is all." John replied trying to stay positive about the situation even though his confidence in finding Sammy alive was waning with each passing hour. It would soon be dark and he knew Hank would be calling him with the nightly update, after which, the psychotic hunter would torture his youngest.

"You don't know that Dad, not for sure. Hell, they could be half way across the country right now and we're just standing around here with our thumbs up our asses." Dean stated with anger wishing he had something close by to punch.

"Calm down Dean, I'm just as upset as you are about not finding Sammy but we can't give up. We have to keep our heads in this if we're going to get Sammy out of this mess alive." John said reaching out a hand and placing it on Dean's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

"Don't." Dean gritted out between clenched teeth as he brushed John's hands away from his shoulder. "I don't want to be comforted when Sammy's the one hurting, the one who is out there somewhere about to be tormented or abused in who knows what kind of way."

It tore John up to hear the anger and desolation in Dean's voice. It scared him to think about what would happen to Dean if they didn't find Sammy in time. It scared the hell out of him to think that Dean could actually become suicidal during a hunt in his grief. The sound of his phone ringing shook John out of his morbid thoughts and he glanced worriedly at Dean before answering the call by the third ring. "Winchester here." John stated knowing damn well who was on the other end of the line.

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As Hank sat at the table of the latest cabin they were staying in, he watched the minutes slowly pass by waiting for the eight o'clock hour to arrive. He couldn't wait to make his latest phone call to taunt the mighty John Winchester with what he planned to do to his cherished baby boy. Looking at the hammer and pliers lying on the table in front of him, he couldn't decide which one would be the most fun to use. Oh both would sure enough cause some pain, but which one would give him the most enjoyment to use.

Looking at his watch, he was startled to see that it was almost time to make his call. Making his decision, he picked up the object of his choosing and walked over to the sliding trap door. It took him only a minute to key in the code and he walked down the steps with a confidant swagger, looking forward to having some fun. Oh sure, he had vowed to give the kid some time to heal from the gun shot injury, but eight hours was more than enough time as far as he was concerned.

Arriving at the bottom of the steps, he looked over to see his captive sleeping on the small bed. Striding over to the bed, Hank grabbed a handful of Sam's hair and yanked hard as he snarled "Time to wake up you little pain in the ass." He took sadistic glee in the startled yelp of pain that the youngest Winchester emitted upon waking up.

"Ow, damn it." Sam shrieked as he raised his hands trying to grasp his hair to keep it from being pulled so hard. Tears flooded his eyes at the searing pain that shot through his scalp upon the rude awakening. "You are one sadistic son of a bitch!" Sam exclaimed pantingly to the psychotic hunter as Hank finally released his hair.

"You have no idea kid." Hank retorted as he held up his latest weapon of torture for the youngest Winchester to see.

Sam's eyes grew huge as they took in the hammer that Hank was cheerfully wielding in his large hands. It scared him beyond belief to think about what Hank was planning to do with the tool. He didn't have much time to contemplate what could happen however as he felt Hank unlocking the shackle around his ankle. Thoughts of trying to make an escape quickly entered his mind, but the idea was quickly dropped as he felt the stiffness in his injured leg.

"Come on you stupid little shit." Hank grumbled as he jerked Sam to his feet and led him over to a chair. Forcing Sam to sit, he quickly secured his hands tightly to the arms of the chair with leather bindings and then secured his legs by wrapping them with twine.

Standing just in front of the young hunter, Hank pulled out his phone and swiftly dialed the number that would connect him with John Winchester. He only had to wait two rings before the words _"Winchester here." _came through the line.

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"Hello John, I trust you were able to figure out the clue that I left you in the video and you are now at the cabin where young Sammy was only a few short hours ago." Hank stated rubbing in the fact that the hunters were too late to rescue young Sam.

"Yeah, we found the cabin where you held my boy." John answered as he glanced at Dean to see the worry in his eyes. "And just so you know, your little stake pits didn't work you stupid son of a bitch. I'm still in one piece but _you _won't be once I get my hands on you."

"Now now, that wasn't a very nice thing to say." Hank accused as he hefted the hammer in his hands. "And for that little outburst, I think young Sammy here will have to pay the price.

"Oh God no, please don't hurt him." John pleaded cursing himself for angering the man. "I'll do anything just leave Sam alone. Please, I'm begging you, he's just a kid."

"Too late Johnny boy." Hank informed the anxious hunter. "Just listen to the pain your words have caused." Hank said as he turned and glared at his victim with ferocious looking eyes.

John raised a hand to his head and grasped his hair as he heard Sammy begging to be left alone before a bloodcurdling scream came through the line. Tears rolled down his cheeks hearing his baby boy sob knowing it was his fault that Sammy was now hurting. He heard Sammy brokenly whisper _"Oh God not again." _before another blood curdling scream reached his ears.

*****Torture Scene Ahead**

As Hank looked at him with barbaric eyes, Sammy couldn't help but shiver from the murderous rage he could see behind those eyes. He truly wondered if this was the time that Hank was going to kill him with his father listening in on the other end. Seeing Hank raise the hammer high into the air, Sammy begged, "Please, don't kill me. Please just let me see my family once again before…" Sam never got to finish his statement as Hank brought the hammer down hard on the trigger finger of his right hand. Sam screamed as he felt the bone in his finger break in a couple different places as the digit immediately bruised. He openly sobbed from the excruciating pain that overtook his hand. He barely had the time to take a decent breath before Hank raised the hammer once more. "Oh God, not again." He whispered just as the hammer was brought down hitting the middle and ringer fingers of the same hand. He screamed out in pain once more until the pain became unmanageable and he mercifully passed out.

"Upon hearing the sudden silence, John brought a shaky hand to his mouth wondering what had happened to his baby boy. He couldn't bear the thought that Hank might have just killed his youngest when there wasn't a damn thing in the world he could do about it. Feeling his knees go weak at the thought, he lowered himself to the ground and pulled his knees up to his chest as he waited to hear another sound on the other end of the call.

"So are you proud of the pain you have caused?" Hank questioned as he picked up the phone and addressed John. He wished he could see the man's face right now knowing the pain that surely must be in his eyes after the way that Sammy had screamed, hell…it had almost chilled him to the bone and he was the one who dealt out the pain.

"What have you done to my son?" John questioned anxiously trying to keep his temper in control. He couldn't take the chance of Sammy being hurt even worse, if he wasn't already dead that is.

"Well, let's just say that I finally _hammered _in the knowledge that I am a force to be reckoned with and Sammy now has first _hand_ knowledge of it." Hank answered with a riddle wondering if John would get the gist of what he had said.

John drew in a quivering breath catching the way Hank had placed emphasis on the words hammered and hand. He had no doubt that Hank had just used a hammer in some way on Sammy's hand and couldn't imagine the pain that must have caused to his baby boy. He sent a quick prayer above that Sammy's hand wouldn't be permanently disfigured by what Hank had just done.

As Dean watched the myriad of emotions that crossed his dad's face, he felt fear and anger taking hold of his heart, fear for what was happening to Sammy right now, and anger that he couldn't be there to stop it. Hell, he would do anything if he could take Sammy's place right now. He would willingly pay with his life if Sammy was left alone. Upon hearing his dad beg Hank not to hurt Sammy, he felt a full body shiver and began to rock back and forth in agitation. _"Please don't hurt him, Please don't hurt him, Please don't hurt him." _Dean whispered over and over praying that his prayers would be answered. He knew they weren't however as he heard the scream that came from his dad's phone. Tears flooded his eyes upon hearing a second scream that hurt him to his very soul. He could feel his breathing starting to become labored as he heard his dad question _"What have you done to my son?" _Seeing his dad basically fall to his knees a moment later, Dean pulled himself together knowing that both of them couldn't lose it for Sammy's sake.

Walking over to kneel beside his dad, Dean placed a hand on his father's shoulder and gently squeezed. "Dad?" he questioned uneasily as he felt the small trembles his dad was emitting.

"M'okay Dean, just give me a minute." John said as he looked up into Dean's worried eyes. He hated putting more worry onto Dean's shoulders and cursed himself for not being able to hide his emotions from his oldest. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself to his feet and waited for Dean to stand too. "Let's go see what Bobby and the others have found." John said as he wrapped an arm around his son's shoulder and the two men started towards the house, neither one ready to talk about what they had just heard.

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 10

**Disclaimer:** Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while**.**

**Warning: **Language as usual, they are hunter you know.

**Author's Note**: **I'm sorry this chapter is late. My niece was in a very bad car accident and is in the ICU/ NV unit. I will update my stories as I can.**

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**Previously: **_"Let's go see what Bobby and the others have found." John said as he wrapped an arm around his son's shoulder and the two men started towards the house, neither one ready to talk about what they had just heard._

As John and Dean walked towards the cabin with heavy hearts, their minds couldn't help but travel to another place, a place where they knew their youngest knew only pain and suffering. The screams they had heard coming through the phone earlier cut them to their very souls and both hunters knew that sound was something they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. As they traversed the steps, John felt his oldest shudder at the thought of having to once again go into the cabin where Sammy had been viciously beaten by Hank earlier. Giving his son a one armed hug, John whispered words of encouragement and pushed open the door hoping that the hunters inside would have some news.

At the sound of the door opening, both Joshua and Caleb glanced up to see the Winchesters entering the cabin and could tell something had happened while they were outside by the tense posture the men exhibited.

"John, is everything okay?" Joshua inquired, not really sure if he wanted to hear the answer or not. Sammy had held a special place in his heart since he had met the family when Sam was just a toddler of no more than two.

"That son of a bitch called again." John swore with barely contained rage as he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"Damn it, what did he do or say this time?" Caleb asked as he focused his attention on Dean who seemed a little too pale for his liking.

Hanging his head towards his chest, John took a deep breath before answering. " I think he took a hammer to Sammy's hand. The smug bastard gloated about _hammering_ in the knowledge of him being a force to be reckoned with and making sure Sammy had first _hand _knowledge of it."

Caleb and Joshua both noted the way that John emphasized the words _hammered_ and _hand _and it chilled them to their very core. They had no doubts whatsoever that John was right about Hank taking a hammer to Sammy's hand, he was just psychotic enough to do it. Caleb was about to swear some revenge of his own when he saw Dean go deathly pale. "Dean?" he queried as he started towards the younger hunter.

Seeing the concern on Caleb's face, John turned just in time to see Dean's knees buckle on him as his oldest started a decent towards the floor. "Shit" he swore as he reached out and caught his first born child under the armpits to keep him from hitting the floor. Realizing that he hadn't told Dean what he thought had happened to Sam, he cursed his stupidity for just blurting it out to Joshua and Caleb.

"Dean. It's going to be okay son. We're going to find him." John stated trying to reassure his oldest even though he had doubts about that fact himself. Even though Hank was psychotic, he was a damned good hunter who knew how to hide his tracks and hide them well.

"You don't know that dad." Dean stated as he surreptitiously rubbed his hands over his face to wipe away the tears that were trying to spring to his eyes. "What if that psycho has permanently disfigured Sammy's hand? "

"Then we'll deal with it Dean and help your brother to adjust. Whatever the outcome is, we'll get through it as a family." John stated as he pulled Dean's head to his chest and ran his fingers through Dean's short hair. Glancing up to the others, John asked "Have you found anything that'll help us to find Sammy?"

"I wish I could say yes John, but Hank has covered his tracks pretty well." Joshua said hating the defeated look his words caused on the faces of the Winchesters. "But we're not giving up. Whatever it takes, we're going to find that bastard and he's going to pay for every single thing he's done since Sammy went missing."

"Dean and I will make sure of that!" John stated with conviction as he squeezed the nape of Dean's neck. "You can count on it." Hearing a sound behind them, John turned his head to see Bobby entering the room.

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The first thing that Sam became aware of as he neared consciousness was the immense pain he was feeling in his hand. It felt like somebody was constantly driving a dagger into his hand as they shoved needles under his fingernails. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn that somebody had lit a fire to every nerve ending in his hand.

Clawing his way towards total consciousness, he gasped at the pain that radiated through his hand and up his arm. He felt bile rise in his throat as he tried to move the hand, causing him to cry out in considerable pain. Opening his eyes, he looked around the room to find that he was by himself and let the tears come since nobody was around to witness them.

Only allowing himself a few minutes to breakdown, he pulled himself together and then struggled up to a sitting position wondering how in the hell he had ended up on the bed since the last thing he remembered was being tied to the chair. Looking down at his hand, he nearly gagged at the sight of the extremely bruised and swollen hand praying that it wouldn't be permanently disfigured. He would be of no use to his family if he couldn't fire a gun or help dig a grave. Hell, he'd be lucky if he wasn't shipped off to Pastor Jim's or Bobby's place for the rest of his natural born life. "No, Dean wouldn't allow that to happen." He whispered to himself as he pushed the depressing thoughts from his mind. No matter what, they would stay together as a family, Dean would make sure of that.

_Dean. _How he wished his big brother was there with him right now. Dean would make everything better. Dean would make sure he was never hurt again. Dean would take care of Hank and teach him what happens when you mess with his baby brother. The only problem was, Dean wasn't there. He would have to fend for himself until his family found him. He wondered what Dean would do if he were in the same situation, but then Dean would have never allowed himself to be caught in the first place. _"How could I have been so damned stupid to let my guard down?" _He thought knowing that Dean would most definitely be disappointed in him.

Feeling an urgent need to go to the bathroom, he stood up and swayed violently as he fought the sudden nausea that assaulted him upon standing up. He sucked in a painful breath as he used his left hand to pull up the injured right one and cradle it to his chest. Approaching the toilet in the corner of the room, he whimpered as he suddenly realized he was going to have to manage the snap and zipper on his jeans one handed. It took him quite a few minutes to get his jeans undone and pushed down, but he breathed a sigh of relief as he completed his business. Now he just had to get the damned things back up causing as little pain as possible to his injured hand. By the time that he had finished redressing himself, Sam was sweating heavily and panting through the pain, tears rolling down his face. Unsteadily making his way back across the room, he lay down gently on the bed and curled up into a fetal position praying that Hank didn't come back down anytime soon to administer more punishment.

Breathing through the pain, Sam tried to focus his thoughts on his family. He knew they were looking for him and actually smiled at the thought of what they would do to Hank once they got their hands on him. Hank would rue the day he met face to face with Dean Winchester. Closing his eyes, Sam prayed that his family would find him soon because he feared he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer without finally breaking.

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Searching the last room in the cabin, Bobby recognized it as being the room where Sam had been beaten in the video and had to fight off a sudden wave of nausea. It had broke his heart to see the youngest Winchester hurt in such a demeaning way. The kid had grabbed his heart strings from their very first meeting and had become much like a son to him. Clenching his fists in anger, Bobby began going over the room with a fine tooth comb. Observing the shackles that held Sam secure to the wall, he saw crusted blood specks around the edges and it pissed him off to no ends knowing that it was Sammy's blood.

After searching the room for fifteen minutes and finding much of nothing, Bobby lost his temper and kicked at the filthy mattress upon the floor where Sam was forced to endure the whipping. "Damn it, where are you Sammy?" Bobby seethed as he kicked at the dirty mattress on the floor dislodging it from where it rested against the wall. He was about to turn around and walk away when a bright yellow color just happened to catch his eye.

Bending down, he reached into the corner and picked up what looked to be a small business card. Holding it in his hand, he gasped as he recognized John's phone number which was scrawled in Hank's sloppy handwriting. Flipping the card over, he smiled as he recognized the name of the establishment on the card. "BINGO!" he shouted as he pocketed the card. They finally had a lead as to where that psychotic bastard Hank could be holding Sammy.

Quickly jogging down the hall, he entered the main room to find John crouched down in front of Dean as the father offered support to his child. As John tuned around to face him, he could see the desolate look in the man's eyes and hoped he was about to replace that look with a look of hope.

"John, Dean, I think I might have just found our first lead to help us find Sammy." Bobby stated as he held up the small business card between his fingers.

"Holy Crap, that's fantastic." Joshua stated as he pumped his fist in the air, finally happy to hear some positive news. "What did you find?"

"Well it's not much, but it's a business card with the name of Doc's Bar-B-Q and Chili on it. When I turned it over, I found your phone number on it John and recognized the writing as Hank's." Bobby answered as he looked from Joshua to John.

"How does that help us find Sammy?" Dean questioned afraid to get his hopes up.

"I know where this place is, and better yet, I know what else is located there." Bobby answered with a smile.

"Damn it Bobby, quit beating around the bush and just tell us what you know." Caleb stated anxiously.

"I think Sam's being held in Cimmaron, Oklahoma. The place would be an ideal location for Hank to keep Sammy hostage. The town is very small and there's a hunter's cabin located in the woods there, one that is sound proofed so he wouldn't have to worry about the neighbors down the road hearing anything." Bobby informed the others.

"Well what the hell are you all waiting for, get your asses moving." John said as he and Dean stood up and headed for the door. The sooner they got to Cimmaron, Oklahoma the better it would be. At least now they had something to hope for.

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 11**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Warning: **Language as usual, they are hunter you know.

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**Previously: **_"Well what the hell are you all waiting for, get your asses moving." John said as he and Dean stood up and headed for the door. The sooner they got to Cimmaron, Oklahoma the better it would be. At least now they had something to hope for._

As the sleek, black Impala raced down the highway, the occupants inside the car found themselves full of nervous energy at the thought of possibly finding their youngest within the next few hours. Deans hands were nervously drumming on the dash, even though no music was playing and John's left leg bounced up and down in anticipation of finally finding his baby and getting revenge. They knew the card that Bobby had found could be a false lead planted by Hank, but those chose to ignore that possibility in their quest to find Sammy soon because neither of them could stomach the thought of not seeing Sammy again tonight.

Total silence encompassed the car since no words were spoken as they sped down the highway following Bobby in his pickup. Taking a quick glance in the rearview mirror, John smiled to see that Caleb and Joshua were following close behind him. He didn't know what him and Dean would have done without their friends to help them in their search for the evil bastard that took his youngest son, Mary's last gift to him. Clenching his teeth, John though about the things he planned to do to Hank in retaliation for all the hurt he caused Sammy. He swore to make the man wish the hell hounds had gotten to him instead of two very pissed off Winchesters and friends.

Switching his gaze over towards Dean, John could see the fear in Dean's eyes. He knew the fear wasn't of Hank Reynolds though. No, it was the fear of finding out what shape Sammy would be in when they finally got to him. He knew how much it hurt Dean when his baby brother was hurting and he knew deep down that Dean was blaming himself for Sammy being kidnapped even though he had tried to dispel that notion earlier. He wished he could tell Dean that Sammy was fine, but he knew better and so did Dean. Reaching over to clasp his oldest on the knee, John said, "We're going to find him Dean and then we're going to make that bastard pay for every single hurt that's been inflicted on your baby brother."

"I hope you're right Dad. I don't think I could handle it if this turns out to be a false lead." Dean stated as his teeth chewed on his bottom lip, his nerves getting the better of him. He felt like he was strung tight as a bow and if this lead didn't pan out, he would snap and lost it completely and God help anybody that was standing in his way.

"Just hang in there Dean, Sammy is going to need you when we find him." John said as he palmed the nape of Dean's neck with his hand offering what little comfort he could at the moment. He hated seeing what this was doing to Dean and feared losing his oldest if they didn't find Sammy soon.

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Sam was once again awakened by the throbbing sensation of pain shooting through his hand. Looking around the room, he was disheartened to find himself cold and alone after having dreamt that Dean was by his side and watching over him. Pushing himself up off the bed, he bit his bottom lip to keep from screaming out in pain. The last thing he wanted was for Hank to know he was awake and return to complete the punishment he had started. Why couldn't he have remained in his dream, oblivious to the reality he was facing now?

Thinking about his family he wondered just how many days he had been missing since there were no windows in the room he was being held now to tell him if it was day or night. Had it been so long that they were giving up on ever finding him? No, that would never happen, at least not with Dean and he hoped not with this father. Sighing, he glanced at his hand once more and felt the tears welling up in his eyes. He knew his hand could be permanently damaged and that thought played on his insecurities. He didn't want to be left behind with Pastor Jim or Bobby if his dad thought he was useless for the hunt now. Maybe he could convince his dad he would still be good for the research aspect of the hunt.

As he lay there in the all consuming silence, he shuddered to think about what Hank might be up to now. The man was seriously psychotic and got off on causing him untold pain. He wished he was wasn't so weak and could withstand the injuries that were being inflicted upon him. He would swear to his dying breath that Dean would have just laughed in the man's face with each new hurt instead of crying out in pain like a big baby. Damn it, he was sixteen, he wasn't supposed to be crying like some stupid little kid. He was a Winchester and was supposed to suck it up.

Hearing the hissing sound of the hidden door sliding open, he glanced up to see Hank coming down the stairs carrying some kind of battery contraption in his hands. _"Holy crap, this can't be good." _He thought as he watched Hank descend the rest of the way and then place it on the floor. He tried to steel his resolve knowing that whatever Hank planned on doing to him with it, that it was going to be some kind of painful. He sucked in a shuddering breath as Hank turned around to face him with another sadistic smile plastered on his face on his face.

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Knowing that the time would soon arrive for him to have some more fun with the youngest Winchester, Hank began to think about his next implement of torture. He had thought about the pliers earlier, possibly using them to pull the kids perfect teeth or maybe to remove his fingernails and toenails, but then the kid would probably pass out too fast on him being the major wimp that he was. No, he wanted the kid to be awake as long as possible for this one. Hell, maybe he would let John hear the whole freaking torture session this time. That would knock him down a notch or two. Of curse there was always the possibility of slicing him up with a knife and grinding salt in the wounds, now that could be kind of fun. But then his eyes caught sight of the battery lying in a corner, and his mind came up with the perfect form of torture to inflict upon the kid. Not only would it hurt him physically, but mentally or psychologically as well since he would be forced to strip naked for this one. He sure hoped the kid would put up a struggle, it sure would make things a whole lot more fun.

Knowing that he needed at least one other item for the fun to begin, he searched through some old drawers until his eyes caught the shiny, silver objects of his desire. "Perfect" he whispered as he grabbed four of them not knowing exactly how many he would need until he got started. Picking up the battery, he breathed a sigh of relief seeing that it could run off an electrical charge just in case it wasn't already powered up for what he needed it to do. He wouldn't receive any enjoyment or gratification if he got started only for the power to fail and ruin his plans.

Pocketing the alligator clips, he picked up the battery and its parts and carried them over to the sliding trap door that separated him from his captive. He quickly keyed in the code that would give him access to the secret room and watched as the door slid open. Picking up the battery once again. He carried his treasured object of torture down the stairs and then placed it on the floor. Breathing deeply, he smiled sadistically as he felt the fear being radiated off the kid. Getting to work, he set up the battery and cables and connected the alligator clips to them.

Turning around, he smiled sadistically at the kid who was still shackled to the wall. The little shit was trying to portray a façade of toughness, but was failing at it miserably to his hunter trained eyes. He could see the terror that the kid was trying to keep hidden as he watched him swallow convulsively. _"Good you ought to be scared with what I have planned." _He thought as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation of what he was about to do.

"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy, I hope you've enjoyed your little rest and respite from the hurt because it's about to come back full force." Hank cajoled as he held up the small wire cables with the alligator clips attached for Sammy to view.

Sam's eyes grew huge upon seeing the clips that Hank held in his hands. He had a sinking feeling about what Hank was planning on using them for after remembering stories that his dad had told him about his tour of duty in the Marines. Unconsciously squeezing his legs together, he glared at the demented man before him. "You keep those things away from me or I'll freaking kill you."

"That sure is big talk coming from a kid who cried like a baby from a few little hammer swings." Hank taunted as he squeezed the clips making them open and close in a threatening manner. "Whether you like it or not boy, I think it's about time we _charge_ up your life with a little excitement so how about you drop those pants of yours and let's get down to business."

"Your frigging crazy!" Sam yelled out as he took a defensive stance at seeing Hank's approach towards him.

"That's what they tell me." Hank stated proudly as he reached out for the youngest Winchester intent on getting his moment of euphoria as quickly as possible.

Knowing that he had to make a move now or never, Sam drew his knees back towards his chest and then pushed them out towards the lunatic approaching him as hard as possible. He heard Hank grunt from the impact to his stomach and he quickly rose from the bed to deliver a vicious kick to his ribs, that plan was thwarted however as his leg gave away from the pain of the bullet wound. Falling onto the bed once more, he screamed as he inadvertently landed on his injured hand. He could feel blackness encroaching on the edge of his vision and fought to stay conscious. Through fuzzy vision, he saw Hank reaching towards his jeans and swatted at him with his uninjured hand.

"No, please le-leave me 'lone" He begged as he felt the snap being undone. Feeling the zipper being lowered, he started bucking his body ferociously trying to keep the pyschopath from lowering his jeans. Suddenly, he felt severe pain in his hand once again and screamed out in mortal agony as Hank grasped his injured fingers forcibly squeezing them. The last thing he felt before giving into the blackness was Hank's fingers latching onto the hem of his jeans as he started to pull them down.

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The Winchesters breathed a huge sigh of relief as they finally reached the outskirts of Cimmaron. They would soon know one way or another whether or not they would have their youngest back with them safe and secure tonight. Following Bobby down a secluded dirt road, they noticed the abundance of nice looking cabins spaced throughout the area. Obviously this was an area for the more affluent people of the small town. If they only knew of the monster in their mists right now they would make plans to leave.

They drove for approximately ten more minutes when they saw Bobby finally pull off to the side of the road not far from a cabin that was nestled in amongst the trees. Quickly climbing out of the Impala, John and Dean walked to the trunk and pulled out the guns they would need noticing the others were doing the same. As a group, the hunters silently approached the small cabin as they scanned the surrounding area. Getting to the door, Dean quickly picked the lock and the hunters made their way silently inside.

Fanning out, they searched the rooms to find that somebody had indeed been at the house recently if the dirty dishes in the sink were any indication. Motioning toward the trap door, Bobby quickly keyed in the code and they all held the breaths as the door slowly started to slide open. The next thing that happened was the sound of a primal scream being heard that would live with each of them forever.

**TBC**


	12. Chapter 12

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 12**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Warning: **Language as usual, they are hunters you know.

**Author's Note: **Update on my niece. She had surgery on her foot to have a steel plate placed in it…this _**should**_ give her a better chance of walking again. We have a projected release date of two weeks now if things continue to improve. Thank you so much for your continued prayers.

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**Previously: **_Fanning out, they searched the rooms to find that somebody had indeed been at the house recently if the dirty dishes in the sink were any indication. Motioning toward the trap door, Bobby quickly keyed in the code and they all held their breaths as the door slowly started to slide open. The next thing that happened was the sound of a primal scream being heard that would live with each of them forever._

John's world nearly shattered upon hearing the sound of the heart wrenching scream. He knew immediately where the sound had come from and that was the mouth of his baby boy. It killed him to know that he was so close to his youngest, yet Sammy was still being put through unimaginable pain. He felt anger building exponentially in his heart and couldn't wait to get his hands on the psychotic bastard that was torturing his son at this very moment.

The seconds seemed to take hours as he watched the hidden door sliding open, waiting for the hole to get big enough for him to get through. As soon as the door slid open enough for large frame to get through, John shouldered Bobby out of his way and started down the steps. He needed to get to his son and he needed it now. Taking the steps three at a time, he reached the bottom in seconds only to find a sight that would be burned into his memory forever. His baby, his last gift from his beloved Mary, was tied to a chair naked from the waist down with alligator clips attached to his groin area as spasms wracked his obviously hurting body.

Uncontrollable rage filled him as he saw the sadistic punishment that Hank was currently putting his cherished child through. Without missing a beat, he screamed, "Get the hell away from my son you perverted son of a bitch." As he threw himself at the psychotic hunter taking him out of Sam's reach and unknowingly turning off the torture device. Raising his fists, he started raining down blows on the man's face as he saw Dean rush towards Sammy out of the side of his eye. Knowing that Dean would take care of baby brother, John focused his full attention on the hunter before him.

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_**Thirty minutes earlier**_

Hank looked at the unconscious young teen before him as he pulled the kid's dirty jeans and boxers off after having unshackled his leg. "Like I said, you're nothing but a wimp. Your dad is probably embarrassed to call you his son." The kid would never make a good hunter with his low tolerance for pain so Winchester ought to be grateful to him for taking the kid off of his hands.

Hoisting his captive up over his shoulders, he carried Sam over to the chair in the middle of the room and handcuffed him to it once again. After making sure both wrists were secure, he bent down and tied his legs to the chair using some rope. "Okay, now to get you awake" he stated as he wondered what his best course of action would be. He could douse the kid with cold water hoping that would rouse him or he could use some smelling salts.

Choosing the later, Hank quickly got the little packet and cracked it open. Holding it under Sam's nose, he watched as the teen wrinkled his nose in disgust and tried to move his head away unconsciously from the nasty smell. It took only another moment before he watched Sam's eyes finally open as he coughed from the overwhelming smell of ammonia. Giving the kid a few more minutes to become fully alert, he took immense pleasure in the fear that radiated from his eyes once he knew what was about to happen.

"Welcome back you little wuss. I think it's about time we get down to business don't you?" Hank questioned as he kneeled in front of Sam and held up the alligator clips for him to see.

Seeing the shiny metal clips in Hank's hand and feeling his state of undress, Sam began to beg. He knew his dad and Dean would be ashamed of him for doing so, but he really didn't want those things attached to his family jewels. "Please, please don't do this. I promise I won't try to fight you anymore, just please…"

**Warning: Torture Scenes Ahead**

"I wonder what your daddy would say if he could see you know, begging like a little bitch. Too bad it won't work because I am enjoying your spunky little attitude." Hank informed him as he pinched the clips open and placed them on Sam's testicles. He laughed as the teen hissed in a quick breath as the clips pinched down on his sensitive skin. If you think that's bad kid, just wait until I flip the switch. Hank gave Sam just a few minutes to digest that information and then turned on his little torture contraption. Suddenly the sounds of torturous screams filled the air.

As Sam watched Hank walk over to the battery contraption, fear filled his heart. His mind ran rampant wondering just how bad the pain was going to be. "Oh God, no." He whispered as he watched Hank reach towards the battery to flick the switch. Suddenly, it felt like thousands of volts running through his body as he felt the severe electrical shock to his groin. In seconds flat, the pain coursed throughout his whole body and his muscles began to spasm from the electrical current running through them. He screamed long and loud as his body sought release, trying to buck up off the chair only to be held in place by the cuffs and rope.

As his body continued to spasm, Sam could feel the cuffs biting into his wrists and the ropes abrading the skin of his legs. _"Oh God, please make the pain stop."_ He thought as another heartrending scream ripped from his throat. He'd never felt such an all consuming pain before like this one. Sure he had been shot and knifed a time or two, but this pain was so much worse. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, his tortured body began to sweat. He could feel the rivulets of sweat running down his forehead and into his eyes causing a burning sensation. His vision blurred as tears began to pour from his eyes. The suddenly, almost at once, the pain stopped and Sam sagged forward, his head drooping to his chest in exhaustion.

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John had no sooner made his way through the opening when Dean followed hot on his heels. He was visibly trembling with angst in his need to get to Sammy after hearing the heartbreaking screams. He desperately needed to stop the hurt before those screams left him a broken mess himself. Upon reaching the basement floor, he saw his dad currently beating the shit out of Hank and focused his full attention on Sammy. He bit his bottom lip to keep from crying out once he saw the condition that his little brother was in. His head was drooped down to his chest and his body was jerking in spasmodic motions. He could tell Sam's breathing was irregular due to the way his shoulders were heaving with each hitched breath that he took. Quickly making his way over to Sammy, Dean checked to make sure the torture machine was turned off and then kneeled in front of his sibling.

"Sammy, can you hear me little brother?" Dean questioned as he palmed Sammy's cheek with his right hand. It broke him to see the glassy, unfocused look as his brother's eyes struggled to stay open. "Sammy, I'm going to take these things off of you." He said as he reached his hands toward the alligator clips attached to his brothers groin. He wasn't prepared for the mournful plea that assaulted his ears when he did so.

"Noooooo, please, don't hu-hurt me any-anymore" Sam begged of the blurry form standing in front of him. "I just wa-wanna g-go h-home, need De-Dean, pl-pleaseeee."

"Oh God Sammy, it's me." Dean said as he cupped Sammy's head between his hands. "I'm here little brother. Please let me stop the hurt." Dean begged as he looked his brother in the eyes. Tears were falling down his face as he watched Sammy struggle to understand the words he was saying.

"De?" Sam questioned with a stuttered breath not believing it was true. Hank must have drugged him or something and he was seeing a mirage.

"Yeah, it's me tiger, please let me help you." Dean stated as he heard the tussle going on behind him between his dad and Hank. He could also hear the boots of the others coming down the stairs too and knew they would soon have things well in hand. Dean watched recognition finally dawn in Sammy's eyes before his brother slumped forward and passed out.

"Shit" hissed Dean as he quickly checked Sam's breathing and then reached in and released the clamps that were attached to his brother's groin, The area where they were attached was red and angry and Dean knew his brother would suffer from that for a while. From the side of his eyes, he watched Bobby walk up and start working on removing the cuffs as he pulled a knife from his boot and began sawing on the ropes that bound his brothers legs to the chair.

Once they had freed Sammy, Dean placed an arm under Sam's knees and the other behind his back and lifted his baby brother up from the chair and carried him over to the small bed where he gently lay him down. Pulling of his leather jacket, he placed it over Sam allowing him some dignity even though Sammy was still unconscious. Running a hand through Sammy's hair to comfort himself, he whispered that things were going to be okay and then started assessing his brother for injuries.

Starting from his head and moving down, Dean noted the bruises that were on Sammy's cheeks, and a split lip that was nearly healed now. Assessing his arms, his right shoulder seemed to be tender as Sam winced even in sleep when he prodded it. But the thing that most caught his attention was Sammy's right hand. It was grossly swollen and looked to be five different shades of black and blue. Gently checking the fingers, he could tell that at least three of them were broken, one of them severely. Moving on down, Sam had some bruises in his stomach area, but none of his ribs seemed to be broken. Of course the area around his groin was agitated from the clips, and he wondered if that were the only injury to Sam's private area. "Please, please, please, don't let him have raped Sammy." He thought as he rubbed a shaky hand across his mouth. He didn't know if he could bring Sammy back from something as horrible as that. Moving on down to his legs, Dean saw the bloody bandage and eased it off to see the scorched skin indicating that Sam had been shot, though it was just a flesh wound. The last injury he noted was Sam's abraded knees and that the right one was somewhat swollen.

"Holy crap Sammy, you sure are a mess." Dean whispered as he heard the sounds of his dad's fist slamming into Hank again. He knew his dad needed the release right now and he really couldn't blame him for it. He also knew that John trusted him implicitly when it came to Sam and knew that he would take care of his baby brother. Seeing a first aid kit sat on the bed in front of him, Dean smiled his thanks to Caleb and then went to work on taking care of the most important person in his life.

**TBC **_**Okay, payback begins in the next chapter!**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 13**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Warning: **Language as usual, they are hunters you know.

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**Previously: **_"Holy crap Sammy, you sure are a mess." Dean whispered as he heard the sounds of his dad's fist slamming into Hank again. He knew his dad needed the release right now and he really couldn't blame him for it. He also knew that John trusted him implicitly when it came to Sam and knew that he would take care of his baby brother. Seeing a first aid kit sat on the bed in front of him, Dean smiled his thanks to Caleb and then went to work on taking care of the most important person in his life._

Watching Hank lying unconscious in the middle of the floor, his face a mass of dark bruises, John was finally able to reign in his anger. Huffing from over exertion, he scanned the room until his eyes rested on his boys. Sammy lay on a dirty mattress with Dean's leather jacket covering his midriff and Dean was tending to his baby brother's wounds with tender, loving care. Taking a shaky breath, John walked over towards the makeshift bed and took a close up look at just how badly his baby was hurt. "Sammy!" He whispered with a shaky breath as he saw the state his youngest child was in.

"He's hurt bad, we need to get him to a hospital." Dean informed his father without ever looking up as he placed a brace around Sammy's hand to keep it immobile as possible. "There's no way we can fix this one ourselves."

"Shit Dean, if we do that, chances are they're going to call in CPS and bar us from seeing him. Hell, they'll probably take him and hide him away before the doctor can ever tell us how he is." John said as he ran his fingers through his hair. Sammy was under the age of eighteen and therefore the doctor's were required to report suspected cases of abuse to child welfare. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Don't you think I know that." Dean stated with obvious fear in his voice. "But we have to chance it. His injuries are to severe to even think about handling them ourselves this time."

"Damn that son of a bitch to hell for putting us in this mess." John yelled as he punched the wall beside him feeling as though he were between a rock and a hard place. Either way he chose, he could possibly lose his youngest son.

"John, I think I have a solution." Bobby voiced as he placed a calming hand on the eldest Winchester's shoulder. "Do you remember about eight years back when Bill Harvelle was mauled by that bearwalker we were hunting?"

"Damn it Bobby, what the hell does that have to do with what's happening now?" John queried with exasperation. He wasn't interested in no freaking hunt that happened years ago when he baby was lying on that mattress gravely wounded.

"Listen for just a minute ya damn idjit." Bobby said biting back his own anger, easily understanding John's anxiety right now. "If you'll remember, the doctor who tended to Bill was an ex-hunting friend of his, man by the name of Jurgen. His clinic is only a forty five minute drive from here, thirty if we take the back roads.

"That's brilliant Bobby, how the hell could I have forgotten about him?" John questioned knowing immediately that Sammy would be in good hands there. Even though the clinic was relatively small, Jurgen had state of the art equipment and an up-to-date operating room to handle the hunters that came through his clinic every so often. Since the clinic was staffed by his own family members, they wouldn't have to worry about being reported to Child Welfare Services.

"Dean have Sammy ready to go in five, I'm going to go get his pajama bottoms out of the trunk. We can at least give him that dignity while carrying him into the clinic." John told his oldest as he went to fetch the sleep pants. Passing by an unconscious Hank on the way, John gave him a swift kick in the side while promising more retribution to come when he got back.

Once John returned with the sleep pants, he quickly placed them on Sammy and then gently pulled them up over him being careful not to injure him anymore than he already was. Turning around to face the others, he asked, "Josh, Caleb, can you keep that bastard under lock and key until we get back? I've got to get Sammy to the clinic as soon as possible!"

"You can count on it." Joshua informed his hunting friend with a tight smile. There was no way he was allowing Hank to escape after everything he had done to the kid he thought of as one of his own.

Once John was satisfied that Hank would be kept under wraps until he got back, John tenderly lifted his unconscious young son and cradled him to his chest. He sighed as Sammy whimpered in pain. Lord knows how bad the kid was hurting for him to do so while in a state of unconscious.

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Jurgen was just locking up his clinic for the night when he saw a big black car winding it's way down the driveway. As it got closer, he recognized it as 1967 Chevy Impala and whistled in appreciation. He hoped that whoever was in the car could wait to be seen until the morning because he was feeling pretty tired after a long day.

A the car screeched to a halt, Jurgen thought he recognized the man sitting in the front passenger seat. If he wasn't mistaken, it was Bill's friend Bobby Singer. Seeing two men climb out of the car, Jurgen could recognize just from the way that they carried themselves that they were indeed hunters. He watched as the younger man turned around to open a door to the back seat as the other walked towards him.

"Hi Jurgen, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm a friend of Bill Harvelle's…."

"Bobby Singer right? I thought it was you but I couldn't be sure." Jurgen said as he reached out to shake the man's hand. "Look, I was closing up for the night, can this wait?"

"Sorry doc, but it's your services that we're in desperate need of." Bobby answered as John pulled Sammy from the car with Dean climbing out behind them.

"Son of a…what the hell happened to him?" Jurgen stated as he laid eyes on the limp form in John's arms."

"He was tortured doc, and he's in a real bad way." Bobby answered as Jurgen unlocked the door to allow them entrance into the clinic. Flipping on lights as he walked through the building, he had the hunters follow him to a treatment room and them motioned for the other hunter to put the kid on the bed.

I need to know his name, exactly what happened to him and if he's shown any signs of consciousness" Jurgen said as he began to assess the kid. "And don't feed me a line of bullshit either. I need to know everything if I am going to be able to help him."

John was immediately impressed with the doctor's demeanor, the man was straightforward and he knew that the doc wouldn't lie to them about Sammy's condition. " My son's name is Sam. He was kidnapped and tortured by a sadistic hunter who wanted revenge on me. He tortured my kid by beating the shit out of him, taking a hammer to his hand, shooting him in the leg, used shock trauma on his uh…groin area, and I'm not sure what else he might have done. Sammy woke up a couple of times on the drive over, but he was never really lucid."

Shaking his head, Jurgen sadly replied, "I'm sorry, it's a shame to think some humans are more monstrous than the things out there in the dark."

"You've got that right!" Dean growled forcefully as he tried to curtail his anger once again. "Uh, there's one more thing you should know doc. When we found him, Sammy was naked from the waist down. I'm afraid that he could have uh, that that monster might have ra…" Dean stopped not willing to say the word aloud.

"I'll make sure I do a rape kit on him then." The doctor replied with a sorrowful expression as he continued his examination. The kid was too young to have gone through everything that he was just told, he hoped it wasn't made a hundred times worse by a sexual assault too. Unwrapping the splint and bandages from around Sammy's right hand, he gasped at the sight. "Holy crap, I knew his hand was going to look bad, but….Sam is definitely going to need surgery on this hand if I am going to have a chance of saving it, and I can't even promise you that." Jurgen said seeing the badly swollen hand and broken fingers. "Just from looking at his fingers, I can tell you that the ring one is going to need a steel screws to hold the broken pieces of bone together."

"When can you operate?" John questioned as he squeezed Sam's other hand while carding his fingers through Sammy's hair.

"Well, I'd like to give him some anti-inflammatory drugs with your permission to reduce the swelling and then possibly operate tomorrow morning. I warn you though, to keep Sam from flexing his hand the first forty-eight hours after surgery, I plan to keep him in a medically induced coma, otherwise the surgery will have been for nothing. His hand will have to be kept perfectly still just after the surgery." Jurgen responded in answer to the question.

"Go ahead doc, you do whatever is best for my son." John agreed as he watched the doctor remove Sam's pajama bottoms and assess the damage done to his _family jewels _so to say. He grimaced when Sam moaned unconsciously as the doctor prodded the aggravated area.

Finishing up with his assessment, Jurgen said, "I'll give him something to make him as comfortable as possible for the night and get the anti-inflammatory drugs started. If the swelling goes down enough overnight, then I'll operate in the morning."

"Thanks doc" John said as he watched the doctor wash up before leaving the room to get the needed drugs to start an I.V. on Sam. He would spend the night at the clinic with his youngest and be there for the surgery, but as soon as he knew that Sammy was going to be fine, he was going back to the cabin and starting a little torture of his own on the trash that called himself a hunter.

Knowing the he needed to inform his oldest of his plans, he squeezed Dean's shoulder and said, "Listen Ace, as soon as Sammy's surgery is over tomorrow and I know he's going to be fine, I'm heading back to the cabin and making Hank pay for every single hurt he inflicted on your baby brother. The doc said he is going to keep Sammy under for at least forty-eight hours which means Sammy won't even know that we're not here if you'd like to come with me. I know how much you want to make that bastard pay yourself."

"Dad, I want so bad to get my bare hands on that prick's neck and choke the life out of him for what he did, but I can't leave Sammy alone, I won't. One of us needs to be here just in case Sammy wakes up. " Dean said as he watched Sammy sleeping, lines of pain crossing his face every now and then.

"That's what I was hoping you would say." John said with pride just as the doctor walked back into the room.

"I'm going to start Sam's I.V. now. Not only am I going to start him on the anti-inflammatory drugs, but I am going to give him a strong pain medication that will make him sleep through the night." Jurgen informed his patient's family as he inserted the I.V. into Sam's left hand and then left the room.

After Jurgen exited the room, the three hunters pulled up a chair forming a protective barrier around Sammy in full on protection mode. Nothing was going to get to the youngest Winchester tonight without them knowing about it first.

**TBC **_**I know I promised John getting payback in this chapter, but Sammy had to get seen to first. I promise you will see the payback started in the next chapter.**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 14**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Warning: TORTURE SCENES AHEAD after the first section.**

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**Previously: **_After Jurgen exited the room, the three hunters pulled up a chair forming a protective barrier around Sammy in full on protection mode. Nothing was going to get to the youngest Winchester tonight without them knowing about it first._

Later the next morning, John and Bobby sat in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs as Dean paced a well worn grove into the hospital floor. Sammy had been in surgery for over two hours now and they were all worried about whether or not the doctor would be able to save Sammy's hand.

"What the hell is taking him so long?" Dean questioned as he glanced up at the clock to see that only five minutes had passed.

"Calm down Dean, I'm sure everything is going okay." John said to his over anxious son. The last thing he needed was for Dean to worry himself into a frenzy, have a panic attack, and end up in the hospital himself.

"How the hell can you tell me to calm down dad, Sammy could be dying in there." Dean gasped as his breath began to hitch.

"Damn it Dean, you can't work yourself up into a state like this." John said as he guided Dean over to a chair to sit down and forced his head between his knees. "In and out slowly kiddo, that's it." John said as he massaged Dean's neck gently. It took a few minutes, but he could feel the muscles in Dean's neck begin to loosen. "That's it son, just breathe slowly."

"Sorry dad." Dean stated as he looked up at his father in embarrassment for showing weakness, which wasn't the Winchester way.

"No need to be sorry kiddo." John smiled just as the doors leading to the OR room opened. He quickly stood with Bobby and Dean following suit.

"Hey doc, how's my son?" John questioned as he watched Jurgen for any indication that things had went wrong.

"You son's a fighter, he came through the surgery with flying colors." Jurgen answered with a smile. We were able to basically piece back the bones in Sam's fingers using the tiny steel screws. With time and therapy, he should be able to gain back the full use of his hand."

"That's fantastic doc, thanks." Dean said as he vigorously pumped the man's hand, relieved to hear some good news for once.

"You're welcome. By the way John, just before the surgery, I did a rape kit on Sammy so he wouldn't have to suffer through that while conscious. I'm happy to tell you that your son was definitely NOT raped. He had some injuries to his genital area, but that was from the alligator clips and electrical shock from the battery. I've put some antibiotic cream on them which should help them to heal a little more quickly. We also took care of cleaning and bandaging his other wounded areas. I gave him a steroid injection in his shoulder to help with the inflammation from it having been dislocated and it should go down within a day or two. As I mentioned last night, I have placed Sam into a medically induced coma where he will remain for the next forty-eight hours at which time I will slowly bring him out."

"That's great news doc, thanks." John said with a handshake. "Listen, Bobby and I have got to uh, take care of a trash problem, but I'll be back as soon as possible. Dean is going to stay here with Sammy if that is alright?"

"That's perfectly fine, I'll make sure my wife provides meals for Dean while he sits with his brother." Jurgen stated with a smile before dismissing himself to check on Sam in recovery. He was a big brother himself and knew how protective he would be if Sam were his brother.

"Dean, you sure you're okay with this, with staying behind and me leaving?" John questioned one last time. He didn't want Dean to be upset or blame him for leaving.

"Yeah dad, go make that bastard pay. I'll watch over and take care of Sammy until you get back." Dean answered without hesitation.

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An hour later found John and Bobby back at the cabin and looking into the nearly swollen shut eyes of Hank Reynolds. It almost made John physically sick at his stomach to look at the man, no, he didn't deserve that tile anymore, that tortured his son nearly to death. Feeling a deep desire to get his own torture session started, John looked at Joshua and Caleb and said "Strip the son of a bitch, he doesn't deserve the decency of wearing clothes. He took that dignity from my son, now I am going to make sure he loses it himself."

"What do you think you're gonna do Winchester? I'm a human and we all know how you and yours frown on torturing humans unless they're possessed." Hank smirked with confidence.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong Hank, you ain't human, you're nothing but a filthy monster who preyed on the wrong kid this time." John informed him wiping the smirk from Hank's face. "Whether you know it or not, your forfeited your life when you chose to hurt one of mine." John stated as he pulled his belt slowly from his pants.

"Chain him up." John told Joshua and Caleb who immediately forced a naked Hank over towards the wall and wrapped the shackles hanging on the wall around his hands. "You thought it was funny to beat the shit out of my son when he was held down and could do nothing about it, let's see how you like." John said as he reared back with his belt and let it fly against Hanks bare back. He heard the man grunt and took satisfaction in knowing he felt pain with the very first blow. Raising the belt once again. He started bringing it down in swift succession over and over. It didn't take long for Hanks back and derriere to be criss-crossed in welts as he screamed out in pain.

"Unghhh, stop you son of a bitch. I'm going to frigging kill you." Hank gritted out through clenched teeth as another white hot pain shot through his back from the leather biting into his flesh.

"It f*cking hurts doesn't it you bastard, yet you beat my Sammy until he was sobbing his heart out." John stated before landing three more stripes on the hunter's behind. Throwing his belt across the room, he had Joshua and Caleb turn his prisoner around so he could look him in the eye. "Just so you know, we're just getting started, you haven't even begun to feel the pain yet."

"Screw you." Hank spit out defiantly, determined to stand as tall as possible. John Winchester and his goons was not going to break him the way he had broke Winchester's sniveling brat.

Balling up his fist, John flung it forward in a blur of speed and smiled in satisfaction as the feeling of cartilage and bone crunched beneath his hand. He took immense satisfaction in breaking Hank's nose, blood pouring for the wounded orifice.

"Guhhh, damn it!" Hank snarled as blood poured out of his nose and over his lips. "I'll make you pay for this Winchester, or better yet, I'll make those two evil offspring you call sons pay."

With blind hot rage consuming him, John pulled his gun from the back of his jeans aiming it at Hank's heart as he started squeezing the trigger. Dropping his hand at the last microsecond, the bullet entered his side instead. "I'm not going to give you the pleasure of killing you yet." John informed Hank with a steely glare. "I'm going to hurt you so bad you'll be begging me for death in the end you monster."

"In y-your dr-dreams." Hank stuttered out just before giving into unconsciousness as his head drooped to his chest.

"Son of a bitch." John swore as he watched the psychotic hunter succumb to his pain. He wanted to get things over with so he could get back to Sammy and now he would have to wait for the bastard to wake up before he could dish out more punishment. He wanted to kill the man so bad, but then he also knew what that would do to Sammy. His youngest would blame himself for causing the death of a human, which was against their moral code of ethics. But what if he let the demented hunter live? The bastard could track down his boys and carry out his threat against them. Ethics be damned, the man had to die.

"John, why don't you go back to Sammy, let us handle this." Caleb offered as he watched a myriad of emotions crossing John's face. He knew the hunter's mind was on his youngest and that it was tearing him apart not being there for Sammy right now. "I promise you man, we'll make Hank pay for everything he did to the kid."

"Yeah, I know you will Caleb and thanks for the offer, but I have to take care of this myself. I have to know this lunatic will never be able to go after my son again. Don't get me wrong, I trust you guys with Sammy's life, but I have to be a part of this, dealing out retribution." John said with a tight smile, thankful for his friend's offer.

"So what are you planning next?" Bobby asked as he glanced over at the monster who had turned the Winchesters world, hell their world too, upside down for the last week.

"Tie him to the chair. I want him to have a taste of what those alligator clips feel like, only he's going to get the pleasure of feeling the pain on his joystick so to say." John answered with authority. He watched as Joshua and Caleb released Hank from his shackles and the dragged him over to the chair where Sammy had been tortured the previous day. They bound the naked man's wrists and ankles, making sure the bindings were tight enough to hurt once he started thrashing around.

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Later that afternoon as Dean sat by Sammy's bedside watching him sleep in a drug induced coma, he shivered as he thought about how wrong the scene looked. Sammy was never still, even in sleep his brother was constantly moving around. It used to drive him nuts on the occasion when they had been forced to share the same bed for one reason or another, but now he would give anything to see Sammy up and moving around. Tenderly reaching out to brush a stray hair away from Sammy's face, he cupped his baby brother's cheek and said, "I'm so sorry I wasn't able to stop this from happening. I should have been there to keep you from being taken, to keep you from being hurt. Damn it kid, you were supposed to be safe at school. If I had only known…" Dean trailed off as tears started rolling down his face. Damn that son of a bitch for making him feel like a failure at the most important job he had.

Pulling himself together with a sigh, Dean grasped his baby brothers uninjured hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Everything is going to be okay tiger, just you wait and see. Me and dad are gonna get you through this Sammy, we'll be right here beside you the whole time. I know what happened has affected you in a major way, but I'll do whatever it takes to make you feel safe and secure once again Sammy."

Standing up to stretch, Dean ran his fingers through his own hair as he took in all the equipment surrounding his baby brother. Sam was hooked up to a heart monitor that kept track of his heart rate, pulse, and blood pressure. He had a nasal canula helping him to get enough oxygen, and an I.V. line placed near the inside of his left elbow. His right hand was completely bandaged and rested in some weird looking contraption to keep it perfectly still. There was some plastic tubing that ran under the sheet and down to a bag that it was attached to. Dean shivered knowing exactly what that one was…the dreaded Foley catheter. "Sammy's going to be pissed when he wakes up and finds out about that." Thought Dean as he stroked Sam's arm with his thumb.

Glancing out the window to see a bright and sunny day, Dean wondered how things could go on so normally like nothing had ever happened. Didn't fate know that Sammy had been dealt a bad hand, it should be a rainy miserable day outside, not one of beauty. Sighing aloud, he wondered what his dad was doing now and if he would make it back before Jurgen took Sammy out of his medicated coma. Sam needed all of his family with him when he woke up to face what was sure to be a long recovery ahead.

**TBC**


	15. Chapter 15

Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 15

Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while. **

**Warning: TORTURE SCENES AHEAD after the first section.**

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**Previously: **_Glancing out the window to see a bright and sunny day, Dean wondered how things could go on so normally like nothing had ever happened. Didn't fate know that Sammy had been dealt a bad hand, it should be a rainy miserable day outside, not one of beauty. Sighing aloud, he wondered what his dad was doing now and if he would make it back before Jurgen took Sammy out of his medicated coma. Sam needed all of his family with him when he woke up to face what was sure to be a long recovery ahead._

Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching, Dean looked over to see Jurgen entering the room with a clipboard in his hands. "Hey doc." He said as he watched the doctor walk over to his little brother's bed.

"Good evening Dean." Jurgen said with a smile as he sat the clipboard on the small chest of drawers near Sammy's bed. "I need to examine your brother to make sure everything is healing fine and that the medicines aren't affecting him too badly."

"I'm not leaving him doc." Dean stated as he stared the doctor directly in the eye daring him to leave.

"That's fine Dean, you can stay with him." Jurgen said with a smile noting how agitated the brother had become thinking he would be forced to leave. "I think Sam would feel better knowing you were here watching over him since he is unable to take care of himself right now."

"I hope so doc." Dean stated wistfully wondering if Sammy would want him around when he woke up. It scared him to think that Sammy might blame him for everything that happened, for not being there to keep him from being kidnapped in the first place. He couldn't take it if Sammy woke up and refused to see him or even look at him.

"He's going to alright Dean, it's just going to take a lot of time and a lot of patience." Jurgen said as he started assessing his young patient's vital signs noticing that his heart rate and pulse was regular, though his blood pressure was a little bit high. While it was of some concern, Jurgen knew that his body was fighting to come back from a severe trauma so it was understandable for his blood pressure to be up some. Checking the bruising and swelling around Sam's eye, Jurgen noticed the vivid coloring was starting to fade and that the swelling would soon be completely gone. Lowering the blanket, he gently palpitated Sam's shoulder area. The shoulder was still swollen and would cause Sam pain for the next week or two if he used it too much, but it would fully heal. Turning his attention to Sam's hand, he checked to make sure that the splint was still on tight and that the fingers hadn't started turning black indicating a more serious problem. He breathed a sigh of relief noticing the hand was doing as well as could be expected.

Needing to finish the rest of Sam's examination, he pushed the blankets off of Sammy's legs and removed the gauze pad from the bullet wound in Sam's thigh to see that most of the redness had gone. He placed some more antibiotic ointment on the gunshot wound and then recovered it with a sterile pad. "The infection in his leg is nearly gone so it shouldn't be much of a problem." He said to Dean as he rewrapped the wound. Not knowing how Dean would react to what he was going to do next, Jurgen said, "Dean, I need to check Sam's genital area now. If that makes you uncomfortable you can stand over by the window. It will only take me a couple of minutes to complete the exam.

"Nah, I'm fine. He hasn't got anything I haven't seen before, I used to change his diapers." Dean said knowing how insecure Sammy would have been if he had been awake. He wouldn't have let him go through that alone then and he wasn't about to now. Focusing his attention on Sammy's face, he watched for any signs of discomfort on Sam's face while Jurgen checked his privates and then catheter placement.

Finishing up his exam, Jurgen pulled off his medical gloves and said, "The electrical burns down there are healing nicely. He'll still be sore for a few weeks, but I don't think there was any permanent damage from the electrical shock he received to the tender area.

"That's great news, thanks doc." Dean said as he carded his fingers through Sammy's hair. "You hear that Sammy, your wedding tackle is going to be just fine dude, so don't you worry." Snagging a chair with his foot, Dean pulled it over to settle in for another long wait.

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Once Hank started approaching consciousness once again, he became aware of the fact that he could feel the cold metal of a chair against his naked derriere. Trying to move away from the coolness of the metal chair against his exposed behind, he suddenly realized with clarity that he was tied down and could not move, the same position he had had the youngest Winchester in when everything had went to hell. Opening his eyes, he glared to see the hunters standing there watching him with smirks upon their faces. "What the hell do you think you bastards are doing?" Hank queried as he tried to loosen the bonds holding him to the chair.

"I think I'm about to give you a taste of your own medicine you son of a bitch." John seethed as he placed his hand on the switch that would turn on the torturous battery device.

Feeling a pinching sensation in a most uncomfortable area, Hank glanced down to see that the alligator clips were now attached to his manhood. "Oh f*uck" he groaned knowing what would happen once the battery switch was turned on.

"What's the matter Reynolds, you not man enough to take the same kind of punishment you put a boy through" Bobby sneered knowing how demeaning it would be to the psychotic hunter.

"Go to hell Singer." Hank stated just before his body was hit with what seemed to be thousands of watts of current entering his treasured joystick. He screamed out as an all consuming pain encompassed his nether regions and felt himself beginning to urinate all over the chair, his legs and the floor.

"Look at him, the stupid bastard just pissed himself." Caleb said with disgust As Hank continued to scream in unimaginable pain, his body contorting in agony.

Shutting off the machine, John glared at the demented man before him. "How does it feel when your own torture methods are used against you Hank? Better yet, how does it feel knowing my son is a hell of a lot stronger than you'll ever be? He was man enough not to piss himself when you put him through what I just did to you."

"You're dead, you hear me. All of you are dead once I get free. You'll wish you'd never heard of the name Hank Reynolds." Hank spat out as he started thrashing around trying to get free from the bonds that held him tight.

"What makes you think you're getting out of this alive?" Joshua questioned as he looked the evil hunter in the eye. "Nobody hurts the Winchester kids and comes out of it one peace. You forfeited your right to life the minute you touched Sam Winchester and I'm going to make sure the debt is paid in full."

"So Winchester and his brood have pulled the wool over your eyes too huh Joshua? I thought you were smarter than that, than to be taken in by them and their _innocent _ways. Don't you know there's demon talk out there that baby Winchester will someday be one of them?"

"Yeah and I'm freaking Santa Claus, Ho Ho Ho." Joshua retorted before backhanding the hunter across the face for daring to malign one of the boys. "Baby Winchester, as you put it, was still naive to the evils of this world even after everything his family had been through until you had to change that by showing him just how sinister people could be. Because of you, he'll probably never be that innocuous kid we all know and love again and for that, you're going to pay."

Sneering at the hunters in front of him, Hank said, "The little miscreant got what he deserved and I hope I broke his spirit so bad that the little bastard never comes out of this the same person that he was. Maybe he'll give humanity a break and kill himself to save us the trouble of having to hunt him down like the monster he is."

"You son of bitch." Bobby yelled as he pulled his hunting knife and plunged it deep into wood beside Hank's hand. "I ought to frigging kill you for threatening the kid, but that would be too damn easy. You haven't paid nearly enough for what you've done. I think it's about time you learn how hard it is to fight back when you can't use what you're accustomed too. With those words, Bobby grasped Hank's fingers one by one and bent them back until he could hear the bones audibly snap. By the time he was on the third finger of Hank's left hand, the man was shrieking in pain and begging for him to stop. Once Bobby had finished with the other two, Hank had passed out once again from all the pain his body had been put through.

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Seeing Hank pass out once again, John decided to take the time to call Dean and check on his youngest. He had been feeling a little antsy over the past few hours being away from his youngest and it scared him to think that something might have gone wrong. Pushing the speed dial button on his phone, John only had to wait for it to ring twice before he heard Dean's voice coming through the line.

"Hey dad, is everything taken care of? Are you on your way back now?" Dean questioned as he answered the phone.

"Not yet Dean, we're working on it." John answered as he looked up to see the other hunters walking over towards him, all with a questioning look on their faces. "I just wanted to check up on Sammy, see how he's doing."

"Jurgen says he's doing as well as can be expected right now." Dean answered as he brushed back a stray hair from Sam's eyes even though they were closed. "He just examined him and said everything seems to be healing properly though Sammy is going to be feeling some of his injuries for a few weeks to come when he wakes up."

John breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news that Sam was doing as well as could be expected, but he knew Sam was going to be feeling more than just the effects of his injuries once he woke up. He had no doubt that his youngest was going to go through a lot of mental anguish as well. "Whatever happens, we'll be there for him Dean. I'll make sure Jurgen gives him something for the pain."

"Sounds good. Dad, you know Sammy is going to need some time getting over this one right? I mean there's no way we're going to be able to take on a hunt right away."

"Yeah, I know that kiddo and you can stop worrying right now. We're going to give Sam all the time he needs to recuperate…physically and mentally." John said knowing exactly where Dean was going with the conversation. "I'm hoping Bobby will let us stay at his place for a while, at least until Sammy is ready to get back on the road."

"You know damn well I wouldn't have it any other way." Bobby informed John, letting him know right away that they were more than welcome to stay for how ever long it took.

Unbeknownst to the hunters, Hank had woken up on the other side of the room and was slowly sawing through the rope binding him to the chair. He prayed that the others attention would be held long enough for him to get free. He was so going to go on a killing spree and wipe out every single one of them starting with Winchester first.

**TBC _A.N. My sisters are visiting from Pennsylvania so it could be a few days before I get the next chapter up to any of my stories_.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 16**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Warning: **The hunters have potty mouths in this one and are doing some cursing!

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**Previously: **_Unbeknownst to the hunters, Hank had woken up on the other side of the room and was slowly sawing through the rope binding him to the chair. He prayed that the others attention would be held long enough for him to get free. He was so going to go on a killing spree and wipe out every single one of them starting with Winchester first._

As Hank used Bobby's knife to continue slicing away at his bonds, he kept an eye on the hunters to ascertain whether or not they were aware of his imminent escape. All he needed was just another minute or so and he would be free. Taking a quick glance toward the steps, he was happy to see the sliding trap door had been left open. He wanted so badly to kill all of the hunters before him right now, but he wasn't stupid enough to think he could take on the four hunters by himself with the condition he was in now. No, he would take revenge on the one thing that would hurt them worse than any wound to themselves could, he would take out the heart of the hunters…that being young Sammy Winchester.

Once he had his right hand free, Hank silently pried the knife from the wooden arm handle of the chair and started sawing through the twine binding his left. He smiled in anticipation of his soon to be escape. The mighty John Winchester himself had made a slip of the tongue and he now knew where the youngest Winchester was and he would make damn sure Jurgen realized how wrong he was in treating the kid once he took out the snot nosed brat and the older brother that was protecting him.

Finally slicing through the last of the twine, Hank went to work on his ankles and freed them rather quickly. Pushing himself silently to his feet, he wanted to shout in triumph that he had outsmarted the pompous hunters but started towards the steps instead. He had a burning desire to get to Jurgen's clinic and take care of some unfinished business.

Taking a few steps forward, he was nearing the bottom of the steps when he heard a roar of anger before finding himself tackled from behind seconds later. He impacted with the floor harshly and felt the breath knocked from his lungs.

**(Vivid Scene Ahead---not for the squeamish)**

"NOOOOOO." he screamed ferociously as he bucked about trying to dislodge the bastard who had a hold of him. Knowing that his escape had to be now or never, he fought harder than he ever had in his life. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his body giving him the strength to give a solid elbow jab to the ribs of his attacker causing him to grunt in pain. Finally freeing himself, he started towards the steps again when he felt a hand clamp on his ankle and pull it viciously. Losing his balance, he started falling forward and screamed in terror at realizing that his head was about to connect with the battery device he had used to torture Sam with. Quickly throwing out his hands, he tried to stop his fall, but was unsuccessful when his left hand refused to support him with all of it's broken bones. He felt a microsecond of burning, intense pain before death took him as the steel rod that held the electrical wires pierced through his eye exploding it before impaling his brain in one smooth motion.

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After relaying to Dean what Bobby had said about them spending time at his place so that Sammy could heal, John turned around to offer his thanks and caught sight of Hank moving towards the steps. Bellowing in anger, he dropped the phone to the concrete floor and rushed toward the escaping psychopath and tackled him from behind. "Oh no you don't you son of a bitch." John stated as he braced himself against the frantically fighting hunter beneath him. There was no way in hell he was allowing the man to escape after what he did to Sammy.

As he held on desperately to the psychopath, he felt an extremely painful jab in the ribs causing him to relax his hold for just a minute to regain his breath. He felt Hank slither out from under him and grabbed hold of his ankle, giving it a hard twist as the demented man tried to escape again. Seeing the psycho lose his balance, John watched as Hank's head impacted with the battery and his body clenched unconsciously as he saw the metal rod enter his eye knowing full well that it was going to impale his brain also. He had no doubt that the man was dead as his body went instantly slack a few short seconds later. Pushing himself to his feet, he watched the pool of blood and gray matter surround Hank's head and breathed a sigh of relief knowing the bastard would never be able to come after his son again.

"Holy freaking crap." Caleb stated not believing the scene that had unfolded before their very eyes wondering how in the hell Hank had managed to get free. Glancing toward the fallen hunter, he saw the knife that lay on the floor not too far from Hank's body. _"Damn it." _He cursed silently. _"How in the hell could we have been so damned stupid?" _He glanced over towards Bobby who's face had gone an ashen at seeing the same thing he did.

"Bobby, don't blame yourself man, none of us thought about removing that knife in our eagerness to hear how Sammy was doing. It could have happened to any of us man." Caleb stated as he placed a comforting hand on Bobby's shoulder.

"Don't try to make me feel better Caleb. It's my fault that bastard almost got away. I would have been responsible if he had went after Sammy again." Bobby said as he knees went weak and he slumped to the floor. "How could I done something so damned stupid?"

"Bobby, don't be so hard on yourself." Joshua retorted feeling sorry for the man. "John kept Hank from escaping and now he's paid the ultimate price for his crimes, he won't ever be able to hurt Sammy or another kid ever again."

"He's right Bobby." John stated as he kneeled in front of his long time friend needing to assuage his guilt. "You love those boys almost as much as I do, I could have made the same mistake myself if you had been the one talking to Dean. Let it go Bobby, don't let the guilt consume you. Sammy's going to need all of us to get through this."

Bobby looked up into John's eyes to see the hunter had meant what he had said. John actually didn't blame him for what had happened and was forgiving him even if he was having a hell of a time forgiving himself. Plastering on a fake smile, Bobby nodded as he swiped a calloused hand through his beard.

Hearing a shouting sound coming from somewhere in the distance, John suddenly remembered having dropped his phone when he saw Hank trying to escape. "Shit, I forgot all about Dean." He mumbled as he walked back over to pick up the phone.

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Dean had just heard his dad tell him what Bobby had said and was about to tell his dad to give Bobby his thanks when he heard his dad holler "Oh no you don't you son of a bitch." Next, he heard what he thought was the sound of the phone hitting the floor before the sound of a scuffle could be heard coming through the phone line. As he listened intently, he could soon hear the sounds of voices in the distance and wished somebody would pick up the damned phone and tell him what the hell was going on.

"Dad, Bobby, can anybody hear me?" He queried loudly waiting for someone to answer. He waited for just a few minutes and called out again. "Damn it, somebody pick up the damn phone."

"Dean you still there?" John questioned as he picked up the phone and held it to his ear.

"What the hell just happened?" Dean responded in answer to his dad's question as he gripped the phone.

"Hank tried to make a break for it." John answered hearing the tension in Dean's voice through the phone. "I'll tell you about it later, for now, all you need to know is that he's dead and can never hurt your baby brother again."

"The son of a bitch got what he deserved." Dean stated feeling no remorse at all. Hank didn't deserve to live after everything he had done to Sammy. Running his hand through his hair, he glanced at his baby brother and sighed. Sammy still had a long road to traverse before he would fully recover from his ordeal. Knowing that Sam would need their support, Dean asked, "How long before you get here dad?"

"We'll be one the road as soon as we salt and burn Hank's body." John answered quickly. There was no way they were going to chance him coming back as a vengeful spirit. "Caleb and Joshua are outside digging the grave right now."

"Okay, just get here soon as you can. Jurgen will be bringing Sammy out of his medically induced coma tomorrow around noon. " Dean informed his father

"I'll be there Dean." John answered before snapping the phone shut and ending the conversation. He needed to get out there and help if they were going to make it back to Sammy in time.

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The next morning found the hunters all gathered anxiously around Sammy's bed as they waited for the Jurgen to arrive. They were all nervous knowing that Sam was most likely going to have a rough time handling everything that had happened to him. They needed to let him know that they would be there for him and would help him through the aftermath of his ordeal. Seeing the doctor walk into the room, Bobby and the others stepped back allowing the Winchesters a small amount of privacy as Jurgen explained what he was going to do.

"Hello John, I'm glad you were able to make it back in time." Jurgen said as he walked up to Sam's bedside and began assessing his young patient to see if he was ready to be awakened yet. Finding his heart rate and pulse fairly stable, Jurgen reached up and adjusted the drip on the I.V. that he currently had Sammy on. "I've just readjusted the pentobarbital drip so that Sam will gradually regain consciousness. You need to understand that Sam will be disoriented once he awakens and he could become combative as he tries to adjust to the waking world. If that happens, I'll have to sedate him to keep him from hurting himself." Jurgen informed Sam's family wanting them to be aware of exactly what could happen.

"Thanks doc." John said as he carded his fingers through Sammy's disheveled hair. "Can you tell us how long it might be before Sammy regains consciousness?"

At the rate I have slowed the drip, Sam should wake up within the next four hours." Jurgen informed the eldest Winchester before checking Sam's vitals once again and leaving the room giving the family some private time with their youngest.

John and Dean pulled up a chair beside Sam's bed eagerly awaiting the time when their youngest would awaken. It had been too long since they had seen Sammy's blue-green eyes looking back at them. As they sat, each talked with Sam about how they would never allow him to be taken away from them again.

The hours passed quickly and John and Dean found themselves quickly standing upon hearing a moaning sound coming from the bed. Reaching out to grasp Sam's uninjured hand, Dean gave it a light squeeze and said, "Can you hear me Sammy?" When Sam showed no signs of having heard him, he rubbed his thumb along Sammy's cheek. "Come on kiddo, I've been waiting a long time for you to open those eyes of yours."

Sam felt as if he was in a thick fog as he tried to claw his way back to consciousness. He could hear his brother pleading with him to wake up and he wanted to shout that he was trying damn it, but he just didn't have the energy. He was about to slip back into that blessed black void when he felt Dean's soothing touch upon his cheek and he latched onto the voice that was softly encouraging him to wake up.

Leaning his head towards the sound of that voice, Sam opened his eyes to half mast and glanced at the blurry shape before him. "De?" he questioned blinking his eyes trying to clear the shroud in front of them.

"Yeah, it's me Sammy, open your eyes for me kiddo." Dean answered as he palmed his baby brother's cheek. Dean watched as Sammy's eyes fluttered a few times before he was able to open them completely.

"De' wha'?" Sam questioned as he raised a hand to his foggy head trying to get his thoughts together. Rolling his head to the other side a little, he caught sight of another man standing beside his bed and immediately tensed suddenly remembering images of a man torturing him. "Noooo, please" Sam pleaded as tears formed in his eyes and began to roll down his cheeks unheeded.

"Sammy it's okay, it's me." John said as he reached out to touch his youngest unprepared for what would happen next.

"Nooo, leave me 'lone" Sam gasped as his breath began to hitch and he began to flail about in his bed. "De' help me!" Sam begged as he tried to climb out of the bed.

"Sammy calm down, it's just dad." Dean stated as he tried to keep Sam from hurting himself. He watched as John backed away with a broken hearted look upon his face at the fear shining in Sam's eyes. He heard the heart monitor starting to wail and saw Jurgen come running into the room.

"Help him." Dean pleaded as cradled a now hysterically sobbing Sam to his chest trying to comfort him as best he could.

**TBC **


	17. Chapter 17

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 17**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

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**Previously: **_"Sammy calm down, it's just dad." Dean stated as he tried to keep Sam from hurting himself. He watched as John backed away with a broken hearted look upon his face at the fear shining in Sam's eyes. He heard the heart monitor starting to wail and saw Jurgen come running into the room._

Seeing his young patient in obvious distress, Jurgen jogged over to the medical supply cabinet and pulled out a vial of clear liquid and a sterile syringe. Quickly returning to his patient, Jurgen snatched open the protective packaging and plunged the needle into the vial which held a sedative known as diazepam. Swabbing an area on Sammy's arm with an alcohol wipe, Jurgen pushed the needle into Sam's arm and depressed the plunger as Dean held his brother tight. While waiting for the sedative to kick in, he placed two of his fingers on Sam's wrist to keep track of his pulse.

"What the hell happened?" Jurgen questioned as he pulled off his stethoscope and placed the ends in his ears to listen to Sam's heart. He was happy to note that the sedative was taking effect as Sam's panic level had started receding and his heart rate was starting to return to a more normal rate of beats per minute.

"Damned if I know." John stated as he ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Sammy had started waking up and he just freaked when he saw me. He started pleading with me to leave him alone. It's like he thought…" John's face quickly began to become devoid of all color as a sudden realization hit him. "Oh gawd, he thought I was going to hurt him. He thought I was that bastard who tortured him for so long. " Feeling his legs becoming weak, John sat down in the chair beside Sammy's bed and placed his head into his hands, struggling to deal with the knowledge that his youngest was scared of him.

"Dad, Sammy was out of it from all the pain medication, he knows you wouldn't hurt him." Dean said trying to dispel his father's worry's. He could see just how much his dad had been hurt by Sammy's reaction to him.

"John, Sam's reaction isn't all that unusual after such a severe trauma. I'm sure you've seen cases of PSTD or post traumatic stress disorder from your days in the Marines. After everything he's been through, Sam was bound to suffer some after effects. You're going to have to give him the time and space he needs to get through this. I know it's hard, that you want to comfort him and let him know you're there for him, but you have to do what's best for your son." Jurgen informed the devastated father as he placed a comforting hand on John's shoulder.

"Damn it, this isn't fair, he's just a kid." John swore wishing he could raise Hank and torture him all over again. Glancing over towards his baby boy's bed, he saw that Sam was now in a drug induced slumber. Reaching out to card his fingers through Sammy's hair, he asked, "Why is it that everything always happens to you kiddo? Why can't you ever seem to catch a break?" Grasping Sam's wrist to avoid his injured hand, he gave it a very light squeeze before bending down to kiss his youngest lightly on the forehead.

Bobby and the others watched with concern as John's demeanor visibly crumpled at the way Sammy had reacted to him. They knew how long John had been waiting for Sammy to wake up so that he could hold him and tell him that everything would be alright. Bobby was about to say something to try and make things better when he heard Jurgen talk to John about Sammy possibly having PTSD. He hoped John was listening because a lot of what Jurgen was saying made sense to him.

Losing himself in his own thoughts, Bobby remembered quite a few hunters who had suffered from the disorder themselves after a particularly bad hunt. He knew the most they could do was to be there to support Sam if and when he needed their help. He hoped that taking Sammy back to his place when he got released from the clinic would give him a sense of security, a place where he didn't have to be afraid. Feeling a need to be close to the kid himself, Bobby walked over and stood near the foot of Sammy's bed to keep watch over the sleeping youngster.

Jurgen had checked Sammy's pulse one last time and was just about to leave the room when Dean put a hand on his arm to stop him. "Hey doc, how long do you think Sammy will have to stay here? I mean he doesn't like hospitals and he might feel more safe if he was in a familiar environment."

"Yes, you're probably right about that Dean. But Sammy needs at least another twenty four hours of observation and I won't release him until I can make sure he won't be suffering any more extreme panic attacks like the one he just had. Too many of those could be detrimental to his health with the shape that he is in right now." Jurgen answered.

"Okay, thanks doc." Dean stated as he returned his attention back to Sammy. He would do whatever it took to keep his brother calm so they could go to Bobby's place as soon as possible since he hated hospitals himself.

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A few hours later, Sam was beginning to exhibit signs of waking up once again as he started shifting restlessly on the bed. Not wanting to scare his youngest again, John stood up and walked over to the far side of the room and out of the line of Sammy's sight allowing Dean to take the lead in meeting Sammy's needs this time. Sitting on the edge of Sam's bed, Dean grasped his little brother's hand and squeezed it lightly avoiding the area where the I.V. lay.

"Sammy, can you hear me?" Dean asked as he used his other hand to brush away the stray bangs from Sammy's eyes.

"De'n" Sam questioned as he blinked his eyes trying to clear his cloudy vision.

"Yes, S'me tiger." How are you feeling?" Dean replied.

"Hurts." Sammy whispered with a grimace as he shifted in the bed once again trying to get comfortable.

"Hurts where Sammy?" Dean queried with concern evident in his voice. Sammy had already hurt enough to last him a life time and he couldn't stand knowing that his brother was in pain now.

"Ev'rywh'r" Sam answered with a little bit of a slur as a tear leaked from the side of his eyes.

"I'll buzz the doc and see if he can give you something for the pain kiddo." Dean said as he started to reach over for the call button on the side of Sammy's bed.

"No, don't" Sam whimpered as he began to tense up once again.

"Shhh, relax dude." Dean soothed as he reached out to rub his thumb soothingly up and down Sam's cheek. "I ain't going to let anything happen to you tiger, I'll be right here with you the whole time. You're hurting Sammy and you need something for the pain."

"Dean please." Sammy pleaded as he grasped his brother's hand to keep it from touching the button.

"Okay, tell you what kiddo, I'll ask the doc for some pain pills if you are up to swallowing them. That way he doesn't have to come into the room. You okay with that?"

"Ye-yeah" Sam answered with a tight smile unable to look Dean in the eyes. He hated that he was feeling so skittish right now, but he just couldn't seem to get a handle on his feelings just yet."

Reaching out and placing a hand under Sammy's chin, Dean gently lifted it so that his little brother would have to look at him. "Sammy, there's nothing to be embarrassed about kiddo. You've been through hell and have every right to be paranoid around other people. We're going to get you through this dude, together!. And when you're ready, Dad will be here to help too."

"Dean I didn't mean…"

Knowing exactly what Sam was apologizing for, Dean cut him off by saying, "S'okay Sammy, I promise. Dad's hurting, but he understands what you're going through and he's willing to keep his distance until you're ready to have him around. He and the others are over in the far corner and will stay there until you say it's okay for them to approach okay little man"

"M'not little." Sam said as petulantly as he could, showing a little of the old Sam coming through. He was a little bit antsy about them being in the same room, but he was grateful they were there for protection just in case.

"I know you're not tiger. You're shooting up like a weed, but I'm always going to be taller than you dude, like it or not." Dean said with a smirk eliciting a small smile from his brother.

"Jerk" Sam replied with a wry grin.

"Bitch" Dean retorted with his usual banter before going over towards the door to see if he couldn't get some pain medication for Sammy.

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Later that evening, Jurgen headed down the hallway to Sam's room to check on his injuries and change out the soiled bandages for some fresh ones. He knocked on the door before entering to warn the family, especially Sam that he would be coming in. He hoped that Sam would be relaxed since he had given Dean a pill for anxiety earlier with the pain meds knowing that he would soon have to re-evaluate his patient's injuries. Peeking his head around the door, he saw Dean and Sam talking while the others sat at a table in the far corner of the room carrying on their own conversation. "Dean, I need to check on Sam's injuries and change some of the dressings." Jurgen said before walking into the room.

Looking at his brother, Dean stated, "Sammy, this is something I can't do. You're gonna have to let Jurgen check you out but I'll be right here by your side the whole time. If you feel yourself getting agitated, just focus on me little brother."

John and the others held their breaths waiting to see if Sammy would agree to the physical exam. They knew this could be the first step in getting back the youngster they all knew and loved.

"Okay." Sam replied with a shaky voice. He watched as Jurgen walked into the room and began to lightly tremble at the thought of somebody he didn't know invading his personal space.

"S'okay kiddo, I'm right here." Dean said as he palmed Sammy's face and began talking to him about the things he wanted them to do as a family once Sammy got out of the hospital. He made sure Sammy stayed focused on him by talking about possibly seeing the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone Park one day. He could see Sam visibly relaxing as he kept him occupied while Jurgen went about his business. Jurgen had nearly finished his ministrations but knew that he had to warn the boys about what would happen next for the sake of Sam's sanity.

"Dean, I'm going to have to clean and apply more antibiotic ointment on the burns to his testicles." Jurgen informed the older brother while watching for his patient's reaction at the same time. He wasn't surprised to see the way Sam's face lost all color as he began to breath more rapidly.

"He's not ready for that doc." Dean said as he pulled Sammy up and held him against his chest hoping to calm him down before Sammy started hyperventilating or before a panic attack could set it.

"It has to be done Dean, he can't afford for an infection to set in." Jurgen explained with an apologetic look on his face.

"Dean, no, I ca-can't…"

"What if I do it Sammy? Will you let me clean the burns and apply the ointment?" Dean queried feeling a little anxious. He didn't envy the task of having to do it, but there wasn't nothing he wouldn't do for his little brother's health.

Taking a few stuttering breaths, Sammy whispered "Kay" before allowing a tear to slip down his pinkened cheeks at the thought of his brother doing so. Even with Dean doing it, he was terrified at the though of somebody touching him _there_.

Agreeing for Dean to administer the treatment, Jurgen gave Dean the supplies he needed and instructed him to be gentle but thorough about cleaning the area before leaving Dean to do the task.

Taking a deep breath to relax himself, Dean looked at his dad and the others. "Do you mind giving us some privacy so I take care of this?"

"No at all son." John replied as he and the others stood up to leave the room to get themselves a cup of coffee to give Dean the time he needed to take care of Sam's more intimate wounds.

"You ready kiddo?" Dean questioned giving Sammy the once over. If he though for a minute that Sam was going to freak, he would ask for his baby brother to be sedated making it easier on him.

"Yeah, I gu-guess" Sam whispered as he started chewing on his lower lip in nervousness.

Removing the blanket from Sam's lower half, Dean launched into another monologue as he worked hoping to keep Sammy from being too embarrassed by what he was doing. Finishing the job a few minutes later, he covered Sam back up to see silent tears running down his brother's face. "I'm sorry you had to go through that tiger, but everything's going to be okay, you're going to be okay." Dean said as he sat on Sam's bed once again and slid in behind his baby brother, wrapping his arms around him in support. "Just sleep kiddo, I'll be here to keep away the nightmares."

**TBC**


	18. Chapter 18

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 18**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

**Author's Note:** Not my best chapter but I am feeling melancholy after spending half of the evening at the funeral home with a very good friend who's father passed away.

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**Previously: **_"I'm sorry you had to go through that tiger, but everything's going to be okay, you're going to be okay." Dean said as he sat on Sam's bed once again and slid in behind his baby brother, wrapping his arms around him in support. "Just sleep kiddo, I'll be here to keep away the nightmares."_

Returning approximately an hour later with a cup of strong coffee in hand for Dean, John and the others opened the door to find Dean leaning against the headboard of the hospital bed, Sam held firmly to his chest, both boys in peaceful slumber. "Now isn't that a sight for sore eyes." Whispered Bobby as he watched John brush a hand across his eyes as he felt his own eyes misting up too. They had been through so much pain and heartache over the past week with Sammy missing that they couldn't help but get sentimental at the sight before them.

"Yeah it is." John replied with a trembling voice as he walked over towards the bed. He knew he would never have a better time than now to be near his youngest. Snagging a chair with his left foot, he pulled it towards the bed and sat down. He reached out to brush a hand through Sammy's wayward bangs before palming his cheek. "I love you so much kiddo. I never realized just how much until you were kidnapped and taken away from me. I know we fight a lot lately son and it might not seem like it, but I love you with all my heart tiger." John whispered staring intently at his youngest child's sleeping face.

"He knows that dad, and he loves you too even when he claims to hate you during those fights." Dean softly stated in a hushed tone to keep from waking his little brother.

"Dean, why didn't you tell me you were awake?" John questioned with surprise at hearing Dean's words. He'd thought his oldest was deep in slumber. If he had known Dean was awake, he would have waited until later to bare his soul.

"Because if I had, I would have missed your rare little chick flick moment there dad. You know as well as I do that those things are few and far between when it comes to us Winchesters." Dean answered honestly before closing his eyes and fading off to sleep once again knowing that his dad was there to watch over Sammy and he could stand down for a little while.

Knowing that the boys were most likely going to sleep for the rest of the night, Bobby, along with Caleb and Joshua decided to get a room for the night at the mall motel down the road. It would give the Winchester family some private time to themselves, even if it was to do nothing but sleep. Saying their goodbyes, the hunters eased quietly out of the room promising to return later in the morning.

Finally alone with his boys, John allowed himself the time to release all the anger and frustration that had been building up inside of him over the past week and let out gut wrenching sobs that caused him to fold in two as he wrapped his arms around his stomach in support. Laying his head down on the side of Sam's bed, he grasped his youngest child's hand being careful of the IV and watched his youngest sleeping as he cried his own self to sleep.

As Dean lay in the bed pretending to sleep after having been awakened by his father's mournful sobs, he wanted to reach out and comfort him, tell him that everything would be alright. He could feel a huge lump building in his throat at the sound of his father's heart wrenching wails, but he knew his dad would shut down and hide his feelings if he knew Dean had been privy to them. Choosing to continue feigning sleep, Dean was thankful that at least Sammy was blissfully unaware of the emotions that were flowing through their dad right now.

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Sam awoke early the next morning to the feeling of familiar arms wrapped around him and holding him tight. He sighed in comfort knowing that Dean would always be there watching over him no matter what. Even though he felt a little embarrassed at having slept in his brother's arms, he was grateful to Dean for keeping the nightmares away and helping him get a good night of sleep. He knew sooner or later that the images of what happened would assault his mind and he would deal with them then, but at least for now, they were held at bay by an ever vigilant big brother.

Feeling the weight of someone's hand resting in his, he looked over to see that his dad sitting uncomfortably close and was holding his hand. He began to unconsciously tremble at the thought of his dad being so close and gasped as his body tensed at the thought of being hurt again causing him to automatically jerk away.

"Sammy?" Dean questioned as he was immediately brought alert by the fear and tension he could feel coursing through his brother's body. He quickly assessed the situation to find that there was no real threat, that his baby brother's fear was brought on by the fact that their dad had fallen asleep sitting right beside them. "Sammy, S'okay tiger, it's just dad and he would never hurt you, I promise." Dean voiced soothingly as he wrapped his arms around his baby brother just a little tighter and began to rub circles on his arms with his thumbs.

Startled awake by Sam's hand being jerked out of his, John opened bloodshot eyes to see his youngest taut with fear. _"Oh shit, I hope I haven't just made things worse between us." _He thought upon realizing that he had unintentionally fallen asleep in the chair right beside his boys. Praying to a God he wasn't sure he believed in that what he was about to do was the right thing, John said, "Sammy, please son, I just want to help you. You're my baby, my last precious gift from Mary and it is killing me not to be there for you. I know what you went through was atrocious and you have every right to be afraid now, but please, I'm begging you kiddo, don't be afraid of me."

Chewing his bottom lip as he listened to his dad's words, Sam glanced up at him to see the utter anguish in his eyes. It was obvious from the dried tear tracks on his cheeks, that his father had been crying at one point and it pained him to know that he was the reason his father was so upset. Taking a deep breath to try and hold the fear at bay, he hesitantly reached out his hand towards his dad's and clasped his fingers lightly around it.

John's heart soared as he watched his youngest child reach out and grasp him by the hand. He had no doubts whatsoever that Sammy was still scared, but at least he was trying and he couldn't ask for anything more than that. Returning the squeeze with a big smile, he said, "You're not alone in your fight to recover kiddo. We're going to get through this together as a family and come out stronger for it."

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Later that morning, the Winchesters watched to door open to see Jurgen entering the room. "Good morning, how did our young patient sleep last night?" Jurgen questioned with a smile as he kept his distance to begin with.

"Like a log." Dean replied as he ruffled Sammy's hair affectionately with his hand.

"No doubt I'm sure to having the two of you close by along with some pretty good pain medications." Jurgen stated knowing how important a supportive family was to a patient's recovery. "Sam, if it's okay with you, I need to check your hand to make sure the circulation is still good."

"Kay" Sam replied knowing his family would be right there beside him. He couldn't help but tense up a little as Jurgen approached, but the gentle squeeze on his shoulder from Dean helped him to calm himself and relax a little.

Checking Sam's fingernails for blueness and swelling, Jurgen was happy to note that neither was present in Sam's fingers. He then applied a little pressure to two of Sam's fingernails to see the pink color return rather quickly. "Things are looking pretty good." Jurgen said as he glanced at John and Dean to notice them watching him anxiously.

"So how long will Sammy have to wear that splint?" Dean questioned as he watched Sammy cradle his injured limb to his chest once the doc had finished with it. He knew how aggravating the things could be after having sprained his wrist extremely bad a few years earlier.

"I'd say at three weeks to a month at least if not longer. Then once it comes off, we can start some physical therapy on the hand and with time, Sam should get back full use of his hand." Jurgen replied in answer to Dean's question.

"That's fantastic news! Did you hear that Sammy? The doc says you're hand is going to be just fine dude." Dean stated with obvious joy in his voice. "If you're lucky, I'll even teach you how to play the piano once you get that thing off."

"Dean, you don't even know how to play the piano." Sam replied as he rolled his eyes at his big brother's wprds.

"A minor setback, nothing I can't handle." Dean replied with a smirk taking satisfaction in the small grin that crossed his baby brother's face. At least he had accomplished one mission today, getting his little brother to smile.

As Jurgen watched the brothers interact, he knew he had done the right thing in allowing Dean to stay with him at all times, and more so, in allowing him to take care of Sam's more personal injuries. It was more than obvious that the two of them were as close as brothers could be. He had no doubts that Dean would play an instrumental part in Sam's recovery over the next few weeks. "Boys, I hate to interrupt, but I thought you all would like to know that if Sam continues to progress the way he is doing now, he should be able to be released in the next twenty four to forty eight hours as long as you have somebody lined up to do his physical therapy." Jurgen said interrupting the brotherly banter that the boys had started.

"I'll get right on that doc." Bobby said as he walked through the door with Joshua and Caleb following right behind him. He knew right away that he would call on Jefferson to ask for his help with taking care of Sammy's medical needs as well as his PT. He had planned on calling him from the moment John had agreed to spending time at his place for Sammy to heal. Jefferson knew all about hunting and wouldn't ask any awkward questions. Walking over to the other side of the room, Bobbly placed the call to get the ball in motion.

As Joshua and Caleb stood in the doorway watching the Winchesters, they were happy to see that John had finally been able to get close to his youngest child since it meant that Sammy was finally starting on that road to recovery. Smiling in relief, they kept their distance not wanting to put too much on the kid too soon. They could wait until Sam was ready once again to accept them into his world.

**TBC **_**The family will finally be going to Bobby's place in the next chapter, but will it be smooth sailing?**_


	19. Chapter 19

Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 19

Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while. **

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**Previously: **_As Joshua and Caleb stood in the doorway watching the Winchesters, they were happy to see that John had finally been able to get close to his youngest child since it meant that Sammy was finally starting on that road to recovery and could soon be released. _

Everybody held their breath as they watched Jurgen assessing the youngest Winchester. Today was the day he would be released if the doctor thought he had made enough progress in his recovery. Bobby had covered his end of the bargain by getting Jefferson to agree to Sam's physical therapy and Jefferson had even offered to make house calls to make it more comfortable on Sammy after finding out what he had been through. The hunters watched with anticipation as Jurgen seemed to examine Sam's hand with a fine tooth comb. They all knew he was still having a lot of pain with it, but knew that could be handled with pain meds.

As Jurgen manipulated parts of Sammy's hand, Dean couldn't help but feel sorry for his younger brother as he watched him wince and then start chewing on his bottom lip in an effort to keep from crying out. Feeling an overwhelming need to offer comfort his brother in some small way, Dean placed his hand on Sammy's shoulder and rubbed it soothingly with his thumb. Seeing Jurgen finally finish with Sammy's check up, Dean couldn't stand the suspense any longer. "So what's the verdict doc? Can we get Sammy out of here today or not?"

"Wow, I didn't know things here were so bad that you couldn't wait to get away from here." Jurgen teased as he smiled at the anxious older brother. "I wish I could answer that question for you Dean, but there's one other thing I have to check before I can give you a solid answer." Jurgen stated wishing he wasn't about to make the youngest Winchester very uncomfortable. Taking a deep breath, Jurgen looked at John and the other hunters and said, "If you gentleman don't mind, I need to finish the last part of my examination, and Dean, I could sure use your help if you don't mind staying."

"Sure doc, I'll stay." Dean replied knowing right away that Jurgen needed to check Sammy's more private injury to ascertain that it was healing properly. He was actually glad that Jurgen had asked him to stay because he knew how Sammy was going to react to the examination and it wouldn't be good.

Sam watched as his dad and the others walked out the door and then turned to face the doctor with an anxious look emblazoned on his face. "Wh-what are you going…?" He trailed off asking as a huge lump grew in his throat and tears leapt to his eyes.

Jurgen was about to answer when Dean smoothly took over doing so for him. "Sammy, the doctor needs to check your groin area little brother." Dean answered as he began to card his fingers through Sammy's hair trying to comfort him as the tears began to roll silently down his baby brother's cheeks.

"Dean No." Sammy stated with a pleading voice as he beseeched his brother to keep it from happening.

"Sammy, you want to get out of here and go to Bobby's don't ya?" Dean asked as he continued to card his fingers through Sammy's hair. Seeing his brother nod affirmatively, he went on to say, "Jurgen can't release you in good conscience without making sure that the infection on your family jewels is clearing up. It will just take a minute dude and I'll be here with you the whole time."

"Kay." Sammy whispered as he began to visibly tremble wishing he were anywhere else other than that hospital bed.

"Okay Sam, I just need you to bend you knees for me and place the bottoms of your feet on the bed." Jurgen stated removing the blanket from Sam's legs as he waited for his young patient to comply. He made sure not to reach out so he wouldn't touch the kid anymore than was absolutely necessary. "That's good right there Sam, Jurgen replied as he reached in a gloved hand and checked for any swelling indicating an infection was taking hold inside. Examining Sam as quickly as possible and applying some antibiotic ointment, he could hear Dean offering soothing words of comfort to his baby brother.

"All finished." Jurgen voiced with a smile as replaced the blanket over Sam's legs and walked over to the trash dispenser to take off his gloves. "Dean, why don't you help Sam to get dressed while I go give your father the news that Sam is being released.

"That's fantastic doc, thanks," Dean enunciated as he cupped Sammy's cheek with the palm of his hand. "You hear that dude, we are finally breaking out of this joint."

"Ye-yeah" Sam replied with a forced smile still trembling from the doctor's examination. Thank goodness that was finally over with.

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By the time John had thanked Jurgen for his help, signed the release papers and returned to Sam's room pushing a wheel chair, Dean had him already dressed in a loose fitting pair of sweat pants and an oversized t-shirt as they both sat on the edge of the bed waiting, Dean with his arm wrapped around Sammy supporting him.

"You ready to go tiger?" John asked as he pushed the wheelchair close to Sammy's bed.

"Yes Sir." Sam replied wincing as Dean helped him to his feet. He couldn't help but gasp in pain as the few steps to the chair caused pain to spike in his tender groin area.

"It's okay kiddo, just take it slow." Dean coaxed as he allowed Sammy to set the pace. He breathed a sigh of relief as he was finally able to help Sam ease down into the chair. Lifting Sam's feet and placing them on the foot pedals, he took over the position of pushing the chair from his dad and guided his brother out of the room as John held the door open for them.

Arriving outside, Sam saw the other hunters grinning as Dean pushed him slowly towards the Impala. He returned the smile shyly before looking down towards his feet, still feeling a bit uncomfortable around other men besides his dad and Dean.

"Damn, it's good to see you out of that hospital Sammy." Bobby said as he grasped the door handle and opened the back door to the sleek, black muscle car. He stood back as Dean and John helped Sammy into the car, not wanting to make the youngest Winchester feel any more uncomfortable than he already was. Together, John and Dean got the baby of their family situated to their satisfaction, making sure that he wasn't in too much pain before finally closing the door.

Glancing at the others, John said, "We'll see you all back at Bobby's." And watched as they loaded up into their own vehicles. As he watched them pull out of the circular drive, John climbed into the driver's seat of the Impala while Dean climbed into the back with Sammy. Pulling out of the drive himself, he glanced in the review mirror to see Sam leaning against Dean's shoulder with his eyes closed as Dean wrapped an arm around him in protection or comfort, he wasn't sure which.

As John drove down the open highway a couple of hours later, he thought about the days ahead of them. He had no qualms about the fact that there would be some rough times ahead knowing that sooner or later, Sammy would have to let his feelings out about what happened. He just hoped he and Dean would be ready to handle the resulting meltdown when it finally occurred. Hearing the sound of a soft whimper, he was drawn out of his musings and immediately pulled over to the side of the road. "Dean?" he questioned as he turned around anxiously to check on his boys.

"Nightmare" Dean stated calmly as he began carding his fingers through Sammy's hair while he tightened his other arm around his baby brother at the same time. "S'okay kiddo. I've got you." Dean soothed quietly as he tried to ease his baby brother back into a restful slumber. "Shhh, it's okay, go back to sleep." he cooed over and over until he felt Sammy beginning to relax into his hold once again.

"Dean, I know we've only been on the road for a few hours, but maybe we should stop soon and get a room." John voiced with concern, fearing for his youngest child's health. He didn't want to push Sammy too hard when he just got out of the hospital.

"Nah, he'll be okay." Dean informed his dad as he felt Sam totally relax into sleep once again. "The sooner we get him some place familiar, the better it will be for him."

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Finally arriving at their destination after almost six hours of driving, John pulled into Singer Salvage Yard exhausted after the long drive. Sam had been awake for the last two hours of the drive and was becoming cranky from being cooped up in the car for far too long. Parking the car in the front yard, John quickly got out and then opened the back door to help Sammy out. Reaching in a hand to grasp Sammy's arm, his help was quickly rejected as Sammy slapped his hand away.

"M'not a baby, I can get out myself." Sam grumbled as he shifted his legs around and placed them on the ground. Leaning forward to grasp the car door with his good hand, he pulled himself to his feet with a grunt and stood on wobbly legs. Taking a deep breath for the trek ahead, he wasn't surprised to see his dad and Dean flank him just in case things went south on him.

Looking towards the porch and seeing the other hunters standing there, Sam sighed in resignation at having to look weak in front of them. He was tired of being thought of as the weakest link in his family. Trying to steel himself for the monumental task of making it to the porch under his own steam, he took a few steps towards the front porch only for his knees to buckle on him.

"Whoa kiddo." John and Dean gasped at the same time as they both grasped Samm by the arm, John being careful of his injured hand. Giving in to his exhaustion, Sam allowed his father and brother to support most of his weight as they walked towards the front porch at a turtle's pace. Arriving at the steps, he unconsciously tensed wondering how in the hell he was going to have the strength to climb them, even with his dad and brother's support, and especially since his groin was killing him from just the little walking he had done.

Feeling the tension in Sam's body mount, John slipped his hand behind Sammy's back and slipped the other behind his son's knees, quickly lifting him with ease and carrying him into the house. Placing Sam on the couch, he helped his youngest to lay down as Dean grabbed a small blanket from the hallway closet and placed it over him. "Get some rest kiddo." John said as he ruffled Sammy's hair, Sam sighing in frustration at being treated like a baby once again. Closing his eyes, Sam drifted off to sleep content in the knowledge that his family was close by even if they were overbearing at times.

**TBC**


	20. Chapter 20

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 20**

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.

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**Previously: **_"Get some rest kiddo." John said as he ruffled Sammy's hair, Sam sighing in frustration at being treated like a baby once again. Closing his eyes, Sam drifted off to sleep content in the knowledge that his family was close by even if they were overbearing at times._

Sam awoke a few hours later to the smell of something cooking in the kitchen. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Dean's face smiling at him from the chair across the room. "_Jeez, I bet he sat there and watched me the whole time I was sleeping." _Sam thought as he smiled back at his brother even though it irritated him just a little to know that Dean was watching over him like a baby. Struggling to get himself into a sitting position, he noticed Dean walking over and allowed his brother to grasp him by the arm and help. "Where is everybody?" He questioned as he ran a hand through his sleep mussed hair before yawning.

"Dad and Bobby are in the kitchen cooking dinner." Dean answered as he took a seat beside Sammy. "Joshua and Caleb were called out on a hunt but said they would swing by in a few days to see how you were doing if they had the time."

"Hope you told them that wasn't necessary, that I'm fine." Sam said as he leaned forward to stand up, grimacing at the pain in caused in his nether regions.

"Sammy?" Dean queried as he immediately stood up and grasped Sam by his arms and helped him to his feet.

"M'okay, leave me alone." Sam retorted as he pulled away from Dean. "I'm not a baby so stop treating me like one."

"Sammy, I'm not…"

"Yes you are Dean. Stop hovering over me like I'm some damn invalid. I can take care of myself." Sam stated angrily and then immediately felt regret at seeing the hurt look in Dean's eyes. "Dean, I…"

"It's okay kiddo, I know your frustrated with everything that's happened, but I can't just ignore the fact that you're in pain, my Samdar doesn't work that way."

"Samdar?" Sam questioned giving Dean a weird look.

"Yeah dude, you know, Sammy radar." Dean replied with a smirk. "So where you headed off to tiger?"

"Nature calls Dean." Sam replied with a smirk of his own as he started a slow gait towards the bathroom.

"Oh, okay, well uh, if you need any help…" Dean replied, a slight pink tinge encompassing his cheeks.

"I think I can handle this on my own, besides, I wouldn't want to put you to shame with… ya know." Sam stated with a wicked grin before placing his hand on the wall to support him as he walked along.

"You wish dude." Dean retorted watching Sammy with anxiety at how unsteady Sam was on his feet. He really wanted to go offer his help, but with the mood Sam was in, he knew he'd be rebuked.. He knew there was no way Sam was going to make it up the stairs on his own, but he would wait until Sam asked for his help.

Finally making it to the stairs, Sam took a deep breath as he lifted his foot to step on the first one and raised himself. He gritted his teeth at the strength it took just to do the one step. _"How in the hell am I going to make it up seven more?" _he thought as tears leaped into his eyes. Lifting his foot again, he could feel his legs growing weak. "Damn it!" He shouted out as he released the railing and punched his good hand into the wall causing all three hunters to come running.

"Sammy?" John questioned as he rounded the corner quickly from the kitchen and saw Sam standing on shaking legs as he leaned against the wall, sobs racking his body.

"Just leave me alone." Sam said as he turned his face away from the others, ashamed of the tears that now clouded his vision. He was weak and useless and now his family knew it too.

"Sammy, S'alright tiger." John said as he reached out to pull Sam towards his chest.

"No, it's not alright, you don't understand, just leave me the hell alone." Sam gasped out as he tried to pull away only to find himself turned around and pulled comfortingly into his dad's hold as John wrapped his arms around him.

"You're wrong kiddo, I do understand, your feeling frustrated right now at not being able to do things on your own. Knowing you, you're probably thinking you are weak and useless and not worth a damn. But let me tell you one thing right now son, you are the strongest sixteen year old I know. You fought that bastard with everything you had and you survived everything he put you through. Don't let him win now." John said as he rubbed a comforting hand in circles on Sammy's back.

"But I am weak, I can't even make it to the damn bathroom by myself." Sam said as he tried to pull himself together, ashamed of letting his feelings show when everyone was around to see it.

"Sam, there is a huge difference between being weak and being medically incapacitated, which you are. You have every reason in the world for not having the strength to make it up the stairs by yourself. Hell if it were me kiddo, I don't know that I would have made it this far." John voiced trying to make Sammy understand that the human body had it's limits, and it didn't make him weak.

"Kay" Sam whispered accepting his father's words as he leaned into his dad's chest. "I still got to go to the bathroom though."

"Well then, let me give you some help." John stated as he placed an arm under Sam's legs and placed the other at the small of Sam's back. Lifting Sam up, he carried his youngest up the steps telling him just how proud he was of him along the way. Allowing Sam the privacy of taking care of things on his own, John stood outside the door and listened just in case his help was needed. Once Sam was finished, he wrapped an arm around Sam's waist and supported his youngest as he helped him to walk back down the stairs since dinner was ready.

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Entering the kitchen to sit at the small table, Sam and John found that their plates had already been fixed for them and that their steaks had been cut up into bite size chunks, just the same as Dean and Bobby's. Not wanting Sammy to feel singled out, Bobby had made sure to cut up the steaks as he placed them on the plates. After helping Sam to sit down, John sat down himself.

"So Bobby, did Jefferson say when he was going to be coming over?" John inquired as he forked a piece of his medium well done steak and plopped in his mouth. He wanted to make sure that the trip hadn't been too hard on Sammy and hampered his recovery in any way.

"Yeah, he'll be here around seven o'clock this evening." Bobby answered as he glanced over at Sam to see the kid pale a little at the knowledge. He couldn't blame him since Sam had enough already to deal with on his plate.

Bobby wasn't the only one who noticed Sam's immediate change in demeanor. Dean took immediate notice of the way Sam's face paled and the way he just pushed his food around on his plate instead of eating it. "Sammy, you need to eat dude." Dean encouraged with a tight smile as he reached over and gave Sam's shoulder a light squeeze.

"M'not really hungry, can I be excused?" Sam asked as he timidly looked up at the others, his too long bangs nearly hiding his eyes.

"Sam, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday. At least eat some of your baked potato or salad and then you can be excused." John answered with worry evident in his voice. Sam had lost noticeable weight over the time of his ordeal and John was seriously worried about his physical as well as mental health.

Sam visibly deflated as he stabbed a piece of lettuce with his fork. Placing it into his mouth, he gagged at the thought of actually having to swallow it.

"Shit." John gasped as he stood up and rushed over to his youngest. "S'okay kiddo, you don't have to eat it." John said as he rubbed Sammy's back once again. He wondered if maybe they were forcing too much on Sammy at once. Maybe they should call Jefferson and have him wait until tomorrow to come over.

"M' Sorry Sir, I'm just really tired." Sam said as he hung his head knowing he had disappointed his dad, but the idea of eating was turning his stomach right now since his nerves were strung tight at the thought of yet another person wanting to touch him and check him out.

"Dad, I'm gonna take Sammy upstairs so he can get some rest before Jefferson gets here." Dean informed his dad as he pushed back his chair and then helped Sammy up too. Guiding his baby brother towards the steps, Dean went at a slow pace waiting for Sam to indicate he needed help. He watched as Sam made it up to the third step before his legs began to buckle and smoothly swept Sam into his arms and carried him the rest of the way.

Entering their room and placing Sammy on his usual bed, Dean grasped Sammy by the chin and turned his head so he could look him in the eyes. He hated seeing the haunted look in what was usually the most expressive eyes he had ever seen and he knew what was putting that look there.

"Sammy, it's just Jefferson, he's taken care of you many times dude. I know the last thing you want is another person poking and prodding at you, but at least this time it's somebody you know." Dean enunciated as he carded his hands through Sammy's hair in comfort.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know what's wrong with me Dean." Sam stated with tears glistening in his eyes. "I hate feeling like this, weak and exhausted all the time."

"I know you do tiger, I know you do." Dean whispered as he climbed into the bed behind Sam and wrapped his arm around him. "Just get some rest kiddo. I've got ya."

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After having finished their dinner, Bobby and John were sipping their coffee when they heard a knock upon the door. Walking into the room, Bobby opened the door and welcomed their guest in. "Jefferson, it's good to see ya. Thanks for coming." Bobby stated as he reached out to clasp the man's hand.

"I wish it could be under different circumstances." Jefferson stated as he shook Bobby's hand. "So how is Sammy doing?" Jefferson queried as he looked over towards John surprised to see how worn out the hunter actually looked.

"Not to good, I'm afraid." John answered with a grimace. "He's really weak and he hasn't eaten anything in a couple of days now. I'm afraid the stress of everything that has happened is getting to him and I don't know what to do to make it better."

"Just give him some time John, the kid has to work through things on his own before he can start dealing with what happened. Can you take me to him so I can check on his physical health?" Jefferson asked

"Follow me." Bobby stated as he led Jefferson up the stairs and to the boys room. Knocking on the door, he said, "Dean, Jefferson's here and he needs to check on Sammy." After receiving permission to enter, he opened the door to see Dean laying on the bed with his brother, with Sam sleeping protectively within his hold.

"Just give me a second, I'll wake him up for ya." Dean told Jefferson as he prepared to give Sammy a gentle shake.

"Nah, just leave him sleep Dean, he needs that more than anything. I'll just give him a cursory check up and come back tomorrow morning to give him a complete exam." Jefferson stated as he pulled out his stethoscope and warmed the tip before placing it to Sam's t-shirt clad chest. Satisfied with his heart sounds, Jefferson took his pulse to find it within the normal range also. Glancing more closely at Sam, he could see the pale pallor to his skin and his that he seemed to be a little underweight. Gently lifting his eyelid, he saw that they were red rimmed and a little inflamed confirming what he had first thought upon entering the room and seeing the youngest Winchester.

Turning towards the boys father, he said, "John. I'd like to start an I.V. on Sammy. He's showing beginning signs of malnutrition and that's probably part of the reason he's having trouble dealing with things. An I.V. will help him get the nutrients he needs until he build his strength and feels like eating again. With your permission, I'd also like to give him a sedative that will make his sleep a deep, dreamless sleep throughout the night since the kid is obviously exhausted beyond his limits.

"Sure Jefferson, whatever you think is best." John replied as he chewed on his bottom lip wondering just how many times his youngest was made to go without food in captivity. No wonder the kid didn't want to eat, his stomach had probably gotten used to not having any real sustenance in it.

Grasping Sam's uninjured hand, Jefferson lightly swabbed it with an antiseptic solution to clean it and then inserted the needle to get the I.V. started. He heard Sam whimper, but watched as Dean easily soothed him right back into sleeping without Sam ever truly waking up. Once the I.V. was up and running, he injected the sedative into the port and waited to make sure that Sam didn't show any adverse reactions to it. Before leaving, he check on Sam's injured hand to make sure he still had good circulation going in it and then excused himself saying he would return tomorrow for a full examination.

Walking Jefferson out, Bobby once again thanked the man for his help and watched him drive away before locking the door and turning out the lights downstairs. Walking back up the stairs, he peeked in on Sam to see the Winchesters watching over their youngest before closing the door and going to bed himself to allow the family some time alone together.

**TBC**


	21. Chapter 21

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 21**

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**Previously: **_Before leaving, Jefferson checked on Sam's injured hand to make sure he still had good circulation going in it and then excused himself saying he would return tomorrow for a full examination._

Early the next morning, John was awoken by the early morning light as it streamed through the bedroom window signifying a bright new day. Stretching as he sat up, he looked over to the bed where his boys lay to see them both still asleep with Sam held in a protective embrace by his big brother. Yawning, he couldn't believe that Sammy had actually slept through the night. He wondered if it was due to the sedative he had been given by Jefferson, or the fact that he felt safe with Dean's arm protectively thrown over him. Glancing up towards the IV bag, he noticed that it was nearly empty and would need to be changed or removed soon.

Pushing off the blankets and throwing his feet over the edge of the bed, he pulled on his jeans and silently exited the room, Walking down into the kitchen, he was thankful to see Bobby sitting at the small table with a cup of coffee firmly in hand. "Hope you saved me some of that sludge." John stated as he walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a ceramic coffee cup.

"Best damn coffee you'll ever get." Retorted Bobby as he sipped on his own brew while looking at the morning newspaper.

"At least this morning anyway." John replied as he sat down with a sigh, running a hand through his sleep mussed hair.

Looking over towards his friend, Bobby could see the anxiety that was clearly evident on John's face. He had a pretty good idea of what was bothering the hunter, but decided to ask anyway. "What's got you so upset this morning John, Sammy's okay isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's about as well as can be expected." John answered to ease Bobby's worries. "I just didn't sleep very well last night after hearing Jefferson say the kid was malnourished. Bobby, we really have no idea of the kind of hell Sammy suffered other than the physical trauma he was put through. It scares me to death to think what Hank could of done to the kid emotionally. I mean there's got to be some reason why he isn't eating." John stated as he placed his head in his hands.

"Yeah, I was thinking about that myself." Bobby informed John before taking another sip of his coffee. "Somebody is going to have to get Sammy to open up about what happened before it eats away at him until the Sam Winchester we all know and love is gone."

"No time like the present I guess." John stated as he heard noises coming from up the stairs. He knew his boys would soon be coming down and he hoped he could get Sammy to open up to them some before Jefferson showed up to give Sam his examination.

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As Dean lay in the bed waiting for Sammy to wake up, he couldn't get Jefferson's words from the previous night off of his mind. His little brother was actually malnourished. Sucking in an angry breath, he wondered just how long Sammy had been made to go without food during his captivity. He wondered if that bastard Hank had even fed Sammy once throughout the week that he had been missing. "I'm so sorry for all the hell you went through." Dean whispered as he carded his fingers lightly through Sam's hair. He felt his baby brother begin to squirm and then smiled when he yawned and opened his eyes.

"Morning tiger, how ya feeling?" Dean asked as he brushed the bangs away from Sammy's eyes.

"Okay I guess." Sam answered with a shrug as he went to push himself up, but stopped when he felt a pinching sensation in his uninjured hand. "What the hell?" He grumbled as he noticed the IV that hadn't been there when he fell asleep.

"Jefferson stopped by last night. He gave you a cursory check up while you were asleep." Dean answered in explanation. "What do you say I take that thing out and we go down and see what Bobby's cooking for breakfast.

"Dean, I'm not really hungry." Sam mumbled as he focused his attention on the blanket that he was now picking at with his fingers.

"Sammy, you haven't really eaten anything in a few days. You have got to start eating. Jefferson told dad last night that he thought you were malnourished and that's probably the reason you've been so tired and weak lately. Please, just try to eat a little something okay?" Dean voiced as he placed a hand on Sam's knee wanting Sammy to feel the connection. When his little brother refused to respond to what he had said or even look up at him, Dean tried pleading with him. "Sammy, please talk to me kiddo. I can't help you get through this if you wont talk to me about what happened."

Unbeknownst to the boys, John was standing right outside after having come back up the stairs to remove Sam's IV drip. As he approached the room, he had heard Dean talking with Sammy and decided not to interrupt his boys. If Sam would open up to any of them, it would be his big brother. _"Please Sammy, you're never going to get over this if you don't talk to somebody." _He thought as he stood nervously by the door waiting to see what Sammy would do.

"Dean, you just don't understand. I don't deserve to eat food that's fit for consumption. Bobby would just be wasting good food on a useless piece of crap like me." Sammy whispered unable to look Dean in the eyes.

"_That frigging son of a bitch. I wish I could raise his sorry ass and beat the hell out of him with my own damn fists before sending him to hell where he belongs." _Dean thought angrily as he swiped the tears away that were now falling silently down his face. "Damn it Sammy, don't say that. That's Hank talking, not you. Don't believe that shit he tried to break you with. Hell kiddo, don't you know you're worth more than me, dad and Bobby all three put together."

"You're wrong Dean, Hank was right. I am a pathetic hunter and loser. If you and dad had any sense, you'd leave my sorry ass and never come back."

Not able to take it any longer, John entered the room to find Sammy sitting on the bed in despair as he hung his head in shame. Walking over quickly to the bed and sitting down by his youngest, John wrapped him in a hug. "Sammy can I ask you something?"

"Ye-yeah dad?" Sam queried a little nervous as to what his dad wanted.

"Who is it that always comes through in a pinch with a perfect translation of the texts we need on hunts? Who is it that I can always count on to help with the elusive research when I can't manage to find the information myself? John questioned as he grasped Sammy by the chin to tilt his head up and look him in the eyes.

"But…"

"No buts about it kiddo. You have saved our asses quite a few times out there on a hunt with your knowledge of things, so don't let me hear you say you're a worthless piece of crap ever again. You hear me Sam?"

"Yes Sir." Sam answered a little tremulously, surprised to hear his dad talking so nicely about him with as much as they had fought before he was kidnapped. He honestly thought his dad never really noticed what he did to help on hunts.

"Sammy, I'm going to ask you another question and I want you to be truthful with me tiger. When was the last time you ate? Did that bastard Hank feed you when he held you captive?" John questioned apprehensively, not really sure that he wanted to hear the answer.

"He, uh, he brought me food a couple of times. But then he would either spit in it or spill it on the floor and then trample through it before laughing and walking out the door telling me to enjoy my dinner." Sam answered while once again fiddling with the blanket across his legs.

"Damn that bastard to hell!" John vehemently swore after hearing his youngest son's words knowing how torturous that must have been to Sammy to be teased with food only to be unable to eat it. No wonder he had a hard time accepting it now. He was probably afraid it would be taken away from him too. Feeling Sam shrink back away from him, John quickly drew in his anger and reached out to clasp Sam's knee with his hand. "Sorry kiddo, didn't mean to lose it. I'm going to take this IV out of your hand and then I want you to go downstairs with me and Dean to eat some breakfast, Bobby is making blueberry pancakes since he knows they're your favorite."

Chewing on his bottom lip in nervous, Sam nodded his head in agreement as he waited for his dad to pull out the IV needle.

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Sitting at the breakfast table, the hunters tried to keep up a casual conversation as the kept a covert eye on Sammy waiting to see if he would eat. So far he had just used his fork to push the pancakes and sausage around on his plate without ever having lifted a piece to his mouth.

"Damn Bobby, these are pretty good for a change." Dean said as he forked some of the delicious pancakes into his mouth. "For once you've managed not to burn them."

"Watch it Dean, or you'll be eating burnt food for the rest of your stay here." Bobby grumbled with a laugh knowing what Dean was up to.

Seeing Sammy actually stab a few pieces of the pancake with his fork a moment later, the hunters held the breaths as they watched him slowly lift the food into his mouth. John winced at the grimace that covered Sammy's face before he choked down the morsels with a slight gag.

"You okay there squirt?" Dean questioned anxiously as placed a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder and gently massaged it.

"Ye-yeah, M'fine." Sam replied with a small smile as he reached out with his good hand to grasp the glass of milk sitting by his plate to quickly rinse down the food.

"Just take it slow and easy Sammy. Give your stomach the time it needs to adjust to having food placed in it again. Eat what you can and then we'll build up from there." John encouraged not wanting to push his youngest into eating more that he could handle. A little food kept down was better than eating everything on his plate and throwing it all back up.

"Kay dad." Sammy whispered as he forked another small mouthful. By the time that he was finished, Sam had eaten approximately a whole pancake and a drank the whole glass of milk. His two sausage patties, however, were left untouched.

Finishing up with breakfast, John and Bobby took care of cleaning the kitchen while Dean and Sammy decided to retire to the living room to watch some television. Flipping through the channels, Dean commented on how boring daytime television was. Finally settling on a channel showing the old horror classics, the brothers settled back side by side on the couch and made fun of how utterly wrong the writers were about their knowledge of werewolves. Hearing a knock at the door, Dean got up to answer it to see Jefferson standing there.

"Morning Dean, I'm here to give Sam his examination." Jefferson stated as he walked in to see the youngest Winchester sitting on the couch staring at him with wide and apprehensive eyes.

**TBC**


	22. Chapter 22

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 22**

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**Previously: **_"Morning Dean, I'm here to give Sam his examination." Jefferson stated as he walked in to see the youngest Winchester sitting on the couch staring at him with wide and apprehensive eyes._

"Hey Sam, how you doing? The last time I remember seeing you, you were about knee high to a grasshopper." Jefferson stated trying to ease the fear he saw in Sam's eyes. There was no way he was even going to attempt a physical examination until the boy was more ready for it.

"M'okay I gu-guess." Sam whispered as he continued to look at the man warily.

"So how's the hand, has it been giving you much trouble?" Jefferson asked as he nodded his head towards Sam's splinted hand. "From the x-rays that were forwarded to me by Jurgen, I'd say they're probably still giving you a rough time aren't they?"

"S'nothing I can't handle with the pain meds." Sam answered with a shrug not willing to say much more than that.

"Glad to hear it, mind if I take a look at that hand?" Jefferson questioned as he stayed in place waiting for permission to approach. He knew if he pushed too hard too fast, he could lose the fragile trust Sam had in him right now.

Glancing over towards Dean, Sam silently pled for Dean to stay with him as he barely nodded his head assenting to Jefferson taking a look. He breathed a sigh of relief as Dean came over and sat down beside him, reaching out and giving his shoulder a firm squeeze.

Kneeling in front of Sammy, Jefferson took his right hand in his and began to examine his fingers more closely. Sam's fingers were still a little swollen, but that was to be expected from the trauma that had been inflicted and the surgery afterwards. Supporting Sam's hand in his left palm, he used his right hand to gently press on the fingernail of Sam's trigger finger, and then the proceeding other two. "Your circulation is looking good, Jurgen did a fantastic job with the surgery he performed." Jefferson stated happy to see the way Sam's nails immediately pinkened upon release from the gentle pressure. I also need to check the dexterity you have in your hand. Sam, I want you to try and take each finger and see if you can bend it to touch your thumb. It's going to hurt some, but I need to see how much movement you have in your hand right now."

Chewing on his bottom lip, Sam tried to do as the doctor had requested. Wincing in pain, he attempted to bend his index finger but cursed when it refused to move more than an eighth of an inch. "Damn it." He seethed trying to keep the tears in his eyes from falling.

"S'okay tiger, you'll be able to do better next time." Dean encouraged as he reached out to ruffle Sam's hair lightly. "I'm sure Jefferson wasn't expecting any miracles right away.

"Dean's right in that assumption. Shoot, I'm surprised that you were able to even move it at all. Shows just how tough you Winchesters really are." Jefferson replied confirming what Dean had said. Taking a close look at Sam's face, Jefferson was happy to see that Sam was no longer sporting a black eye and that the bruising had faded to a light yellowish green. "I can see the shiner you had is nearly gone, you'll be giving Dean a run for his money with the ladies soon." Jefferson stated with a grin, especially at the look on Dean's face.

"Now wait a minute doc…" Dean started only to be cut off by Jefferson.

"What's the matter Dean, afraid of a little competition?" From the corner of his eye, he noticed Sam smirk a little at the remark and knew that he was playing his cards right. The kid was beginning to relax a little.

"Hell no, I already know Sam is gonna be a winner with the ladies. He is a Winchester isn't he?" Dean crowed with a grin of his own.

"He sure is." John answered as he walked into the room followed by Bobby. "Good to see you again Jefferson. How long have you been here?"

"Just long enough to check out Sam's hand." The doctor replied. "The hand is progressing about as well as can be expected. He has some pain when he tries to form what we call the 'A-okay' sign but that is to be expected."

"What the hell does that mean, the 'A-okay' sigh?" John queried needing to know everything about his baby boy's progress.

"Basically it's the motion you make of touching your thumb with your index finger while holding the other three fingers up in the air. As of right now, Sam is unable to do it, but with therapy, he should be able to remedy that soon." Jefferson replied showing John the motion. "Now if you gentleman don't mind, I really need to check out Sam's other injuries and could use some privacy."

"N-no!" Sam stated emphatically as he drew his knees up to his chest, tension obvious on his face knowing what Jefferson was planning to do. "I'm f-fine, there's no reason to check the rest of me out."

John was about to reply to that when Jefferson held up his hand to let him handle things. "I hope you're right Sam, but I won't know that for sure unless I physically examine you. I promise I'll make it quick, and if things are healing the way they should, you won't ever have to worry about me examining you _there_ again. I know what you've been through and I would be wary too if I were you, but Sam, I've been your doctor on and off throughout the years. You know I wouldn't hurt you for the world."

"I guess." Sam mumbled as he lowered his head.

"Tell you what Sam, Dean can stay if it will make you feel more comfortable. Just give me five minutes or less and we'll be finished with this medical check up. What do you say kid?" Jefferson questioned hoping the youngest of the Winchesters would agree.

"Kay." Sam whispered as he chewed on his bottom lip once again. Might as well get it over with and pray that it never had to happen again.

"Okay, then lets get this over with." Jefferson stated as he grabbed a throw blanket off the back of Bobby's couch and placed it over Sam's lower half once the kid had stretched out with his knees bent. "John, Bobby, if you'll wait in the kitchen, I can get this checkup finished and I'll be in to talk to you two soon."

"Sure Jefferson, we'll be waiting to hear what you have to say." John said as he walked to the head of the couch and reached down to ruffle Sam's hair. "You know if you need me, I'm just a shout away tiger." He said to his youngest before squeezing Sam's shoulder and walking out of the room.

Seeing Dean take up a position by Sam's head and start engaging the boy in conversation, Jefferson quickly pulled down Sam's sweats and checked the superficial gunshot wound to the leg as well as his more private injuries. Applying some ointment to the nearly healed burns. He replaced Sam's clothing and announced that he was finished. Looking at Sam with a smile, He gladly informed Sam that the wounds were healing nicely and he would not be subjected to _that_ kind of examination again.

"Thanks Jefferson." Dean replied as he reached out to shake the man's hand. "And thanks for taking things at Sammy's pace."

"You're welcome Dean, I wouldn't have it any other way since the patient always comes first." Jefferson replied happy that he was able to deliver good news this time. Leaving the brothers alone to talk. Jefferson walked into the kitchen and helped himself to a cup of coffee.

"How's my boy Jefferson?" John asked anxiously wanting to know if things were alright.

"He's fine John. The burns are healing nicely so he'll never have to worry about going through that discomfort ever again." Jefferson replied.

John emitted a huge sigh of relief that at least something was going right in their lives. "It's about time something goes in the kids favor. Uh, earlier in the living room you mentioned that Sam should get the use of his fingers back with therapy. Is there something we should be doing or need to do to help in that area?"

"I'm glad you asked John, yes there is." Sam needs to start doing repetitive movements that will encourage him to make grasping movements. I know this might sound silly, but something as simple as stacking toddler's blocks will train his hands and fingers to start obeying commands from his brain once again. Once he is able to manipulate those, have him move on to working with a stress ball. God knows the kid needs to work out a lot of that. Of course once he starts the therapy, he's going to need some hand and finger massages to help with the pain that will accompany them."

"That won't be a problem, I'll be more than happy to do whatever it takes to make sure he's not hurting." Dean replied as he walked into the kitchen and over to the cupboard. Grasping a glass from the shelf, he poured it half full with apple juice before taking it back into the living room where Sam was waiting for it.

"I've got the other things covered." Bobby informed Jefferson with a smile. "I still have that block set that's up in the closet from when the Winchesters first visited and the boys stayed here for a few months while John trained. Lord knows how many of those stress balls I have lying around. Those things come with the job when it comes to being a hunter."

"Then Sam is off to a good start, just be aware of the fact that there will be times where he gets frustrated and will feel like giving up. It's going to take a lot of time and patience, but Sam will come through it as long as he has your support." Jefferson informed the hunters as he looked them into the eye letting them know how important their support was to the youngster's progress.

"Don't you worry Jefferson, we're behind Sammy one hundred and ten percent. I can handle a few temper tantrums along the way as long as I know my boy is going to be okay." John said with conviction obvious in his voice.

"I'm glad to hear that. Now tell me, we're you able to get Sam to eat anything this morning? That's another vital part to his recovery, getting the nourishment he needs to give him the strength to handle the coming weeks."

"Yeah, he actually managed to eat a pancake and drink a glass of milk. I know it's not much, but it's a start." John replied in answer to Jefferson's question.

'S'good, just make sure you get him to eat some of the more healthier foods like vegetables, salad and baked chicken. The healthier the food is, the more quickly we'll see results from Sam." Jefferson stated.

"Healthier food it is then." Bobby replied knowing just how much Dean was going to hate their meals over the next week or so. Dean lived on greasy burgers and takeout, but that was about to change, well at least until Sammy was healed once again.

"Fantastic. Well then I guess it's time for me to leave. I'll be back in a few days to see how the hand therapy is going and to make sure that things are still up to par." Jefferson said as he drank the last swig of coffee and pushed himself up from the table. Walking into the living room, he had to smile at the sight of Dean sitting on the couch with Sammy's head pillowed in his lap as the oldest unconsciously carded his fingers through Sam's long hair. He was glad to know the brothers were still as dedicated to each other as he remembered. Sam was definitely going to need his brother's support in the coming weeks.

**TBC**


	23. Chapter 23

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 23**

**Author's Note:** _I'm not totally pleased with this chapter, but I didn't want to keep you waiting for it._

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**Previously: **_Walking into the living room, Jefferson had to smile at the sight of Dean sitting on the couch with Sammy's head pillowed in his lap as the oldest unconsciously carded his fingers through Sam's long hair. He was glad to know the brothers were still as dedicated to each other as he remembered. Sam was definitely going to need his brother's support in the coming weeks._

Once Jefferson had left, Bobby went in search of the items that Jefferson had mentioned Sam would need to start his therapy. He remembered placing the building blocks he had bought for Sammy when he was a two year old in one of the hallway closets, now all he had to do was find them. Walking upstairs, he started pulling items from the closet as he searched for the wooden blocks with letters and animals imprinted on them. "I know they're in here ." Bobby grumbled as he threw things out of the way. Finally clearing most of the junk from the closet, his eyes landed on an old wooden chest. This was the place had hoped to someday store his own children's toys, but it was never meant to be. Opening the lid, he smiled as at the sight of the blocks sitting in there nestled amongst toy cars and action figures along with a few children's books the Winchester boys had collected over the years while staying at his place. Carefully removing the blocks, he closed the lid and packed the closet back up.

Returning downstairs, he placed the blocks in the utility room where they would be within easy reach for when they were needed later that evening. Knowing that he would need to make a grocery run before dinner to pick up the health foods mentioned, he went into the living room where the Winchesters were sitting as they kept watch over their youngest who had fallen asleep from the comforting motion of Dean's fingers carding through his hair. Smiling at the sight, he said, "I need to pick up a few things for tonight's dinner. Is there anything you guys need before I go?"

"Yeah Bobby, how about picking up some hamburger so we can grill out tonight. I'm in the mood for a juicy burger loaded with onions and ketchup." Dean answered with his mouth already watering at the thought of such a delectable meal.

"Sorry Ace, but you're going to have to settle for baked chicken tonight. Jefferson said that Sammy needs to be eating healthier so we'll be eating organically raised types of foods for the foreseeable future."

"Aw Bobby, you've got be kidding me. I can't survive on health foods, I mean come on. At least bring me back something fattening to snack on like M&M's." Dean stated cringing at the thought of having to eat organic meats and vegetables.

"Bobby's right Dean. It won't be fair to Sammy to eat foods that he can't have. You can deal with it for a couple of weeks. Who knows, it might even grow on ya." John smirked knowing damn well it was going to drive Dean nuts.

"Yeah right." Dean stated in a whispered voice as he felt Sammy's head shifting in his lap not wanting to wake him brother up. Placing his hand on Sam's chest to let him know everything was okay, he felt Sam settle into sleep once again.

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Later that day, Bobby had just finished cooking their evening meal when he stepped out onto the porch to call the Winchester's to dinner. John and Dean had been working on repairing a 1968 SS Camaro that needed to be ready for a classic car show in two weeks while Sammy sat on the front porch swing petting his guard dog Rumsfeld. Returning to the kitchen, he grabbed some plates from the cupboard and had just placed them on the table when he heard the Winchesters entering. "Go get yourselves washed up." Bobby told them as he snatched some glasses from the cabinet and placed them by the plates.

The Winchesters quickly did as instructed then returned to the kitchen to find that Bobby had placed a meal of oven baked chicken and brown rice, steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes onto the table. Bobby knew that he had to make something other than the rice and broccoli or poor Dean would have probably starved to death. Instructing everybody to "dig in" Bobby walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of apple juice that he had bought to go with the meal.

Knowing that it would be hard for Sam to fix his own plate, John reached over to get his youngest son's plate and then placed a piece of chicken, a scoop of rice and a scoop of broccoli onto it before sitting it in front of his baby boy. "Sammy, I want you to try and eat most of that." John informed his youngest as he began fixing his own plate.

"Yes Sir" Sam replied as he picked up the piece of chicken and took a small bite. He knew his family would be watching him closely to monitor how much he ate. He just hoped he would be able to eat it and then keep it down with the way his stomach was feeling. Watching as Dean filled his own plate, his eyes grew huge as he watched him place some of the steamed broccoli onto his own plate. Dean never ate anything green unless it came on a Subway sandwich.

As Dean stood fixing his plate, he could see the hesitant look on Sam's face as he bit into the chicken. Figuring he needed to find some way to occupy Sam's mind and get it off the food he was eating, he reached out to place a scoop of broccoli onto his plate hoping he would be able to choke it down.

"Dean, you're not seriously planning on eating that are you?" Sam questioned as he saw the look Dean gave the steamed vegetable as he placed it on his plate before taking a bite of the broccoli himself.

"Sure I am kiddo." Dean stated as he forked a big piece and placed it into his mouth and started chewing with a smile. It didn't take long however for that smile to leave his face once the taste of the steamed broccoli assaulted his taste buds causing his eyes to water and his nose to wrinkle in disgust.

Laughing, Sam watched as his brother quickly pushed back his chair and bolted for the trash can to spit out the foul tasting food.

Returning to the table, Dean wiped his mouth before looking at the others. "M'sorry, I tried but I just can't stomach that mess."

"Dean, it's okay. I know you only tried because of me. I don't expect you to eat things you don't like." Sam said trying to make his brother feel better as he continued munching on his own food.

"Thanks tiger." Dean said with a grin as he raked the broccoli off of his plate and filled the area with mashed potatoes. Now that was food he could chow down on. Starting a monologue on the benefits of eating potatoes, he was happy to see that Sam had already eaten at least half of his food.

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Once the evening meal had been finished and the dishes had been washed, John decided that it was time to start working on Sam's physical therapy. He hadn't mentioned it to Sammy yet knowing that his son would get upset once he found out what they wanted him to do. Having Bobby retrieve the blocks, John walked into the living room where Dean was currently cleaning their guns as Sammy handed him the stuff he needed. Sitting in the chair across from his boys, John cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Yeah dad?" Dean questioned as he placed the weapon he was cleaning down on the table and he and Sam focused their full attention on John.

"Boys…Sammy, when Jefferson was here earlier this morning, he said we needed to start working on your physical therapy. He, uh, gave us some ideas that would be helpful in getting your hand back in shape. John stated as he picked at a hole in the knee of his jeans.

"What kind of ideas?" Sam, questioned wondering what had his dad so nervous. John didn't have the chance to answer however as Bobby walked into the room and placed the toddler blocks on the table in front of Sam.

"Oh hell no." Sam objected as he eyed the blocks with disdain. "If you think I'm going to play with baby blocks, then you have another think coming."

"Sammy, Jefferson said that manipulating the blocks would help train your hand to start making grasping motions again kiddo. It's for your own good that we want you to start working with the blocks." John said as he tried to persuade Sam to understand.

"I said no damn it. I am not playing with some damn baby toys." Sam yelled as he used his good hand to sweep them off the table before standing up and stomping off to his and Dean's room upstairs, grumbling about being treated like a baby enough already.

"Well that went well." Bobby voiced as he pulled off his ball cap and ran his fingers through his hair.

"You guys seriously didn't think Sam would be all for working with the blocks did ya?" Dean questioned with a roll of his eyes. "You know Sam hates being treated like an invalid enough already as it is. Those blocks just cemented the fact that that is how you guys are thinking of him right now."

"That's not how we meant it Dean and you know it. We we're just trying to help." John explained as he glanced toward the stairs wondering how they were going to fix things now.

"Yeah, well you went about it the wrong way." Dean enunciated as he gathered the blocks together and placed them into the bag again and then left the room to try and make things right.

"I hope he can fix things and get Sammy to working with those blocks." John stated as he watched Dean walking up the steps. He knew if anybody could do it, it would be Dean. Hell, he should have known to let Dean approach the matter with Sammy in the first place.

Knocking on the door, Dean called out, "Sammy, it's me dude." Before opening the door and walking into the room to find his brother brooding on the bed. Walking over and taking a seat on the edge of the bed, Dean said, "Sam, Dad and Bobby were just trying to help. They're concerned about you tiger."

"Leave me alone Dean." Sam mumbled as he turned his head away and stared at the wall. He didn't feel like talking right now and just wanted to be left alone.

"Sorry kiddo, I can't do that." Dean replied as he placed a hand on Sam's knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know how important this therapy is for you to regain full use of your hand and I'm not going to let you give up." Dean told his brother as he began to stack the blocks into a fort like shape on Sam's bed.

"Hey Sammy, you remember when we were little and used to play army games. I would always built up these cool looking forts using these blocks only to have you tear them down with your cannon fire just moments later. We used to have so much fun back then. Bobby even joined in a few battles with us. Of course we always won the battle when he went up against us." Dean touted as he continued working on his fort.

Watching from the side of his eye, he noticed that Sam was finally showing an interest in what he was doing. "You know, I could use some help here dude." Dean informed him as he placed another block. He held his breath as Sam chewed on his bottom lip, contemplating what to do. Finally he watched as Sam reached out to grasp a block with his splinted hand.

Placing his hand near a block, Sam focused on getting his fingers to bend and grasp it. He hissed as the movement caused pain to shoot through his hand, but didn't give up. Finally wrapping his fingers around the block, he smiled as he lifted it and placed it where he thought it needed to go.

"Way to go Sammy." Dean encouraged as he instructed Sam to pick up another block and place it on top of the one he had just put into position. He watched and encouraged Sam to continue helping for the next thirty minutes when he felt like the pain was becoming too much for his brother.

"I think that's enough work for today tiger. Why don't you let me massage that hand of yours and then we'll watch a little television. Tomorrow, I'll have dad or Bobby run into town and pick up some more blocks so we can challenge them to see who can build the best fort." Dean said as he began to gently massage the pain out of his baby brother's hand. He knew the best way to keep Sam involved with the therapy was to make a game or challenge out of it, thereby making it more interesting to do.

**TBC **


	24. Chapter 24

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 24**

**Author's Note: **Sorry to keep you waiting. What I though was a bad case of allergies ended up being severe bronchitis complicated by a slight case of pneumonia. The meds they gave me have me kind of loopy right now so I hope this chapter make sense.

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**Previously: **_Tomorrow, I'll have dad or Bobby run into town and pick up some more blocks so we can challenge them to see who can build the best fort." Dean said as he began to gently massage the pain out of his baby brother's hand. He knew the best way to keep Sam involved with the therapy was to make a game or challenge out of it, thereby making it more interesting to do._

By the time that Dean had finished massaging Sam's hands, he looked over to see his little brother's head slumped to his chest as he struggled to stay awake. "You've had a rough evening tiger, it's time to get some sleep." Dean encouraged as he helped Sam to lay down and then pulled a blanket up over him. He sat on the edge of bed and gently carded his fingers through Sam's hair until the sound of soft, even breathing could be heard. Easing himself up off the bed, he walked over towards the door and then glanced back at his baby brother. "Sweet dreams kiddo." He whispered before walking out the door, making sure to leave it slightly ajar so he could hear if Sam needed him for any reason.

Traipsing down the steps, he entered the kitchen to see his dad and Bobby sitting at the table engrossed in conversation as they sipped on cups of coffee. Getting a mug of his own and pouring some of the scalding hot brew, he pulled out a chair and sat down directly opposite of his dad.

"Sammy okay?" John questioned with a sincere look on his face needing to know if Dean had been able to make things right.

"Yes sir, he's fine. He's sleeping now." Dean answered before sipping on the strong black coffee. Gazing towards his father, he saw a perplexed look on his face.

"Sam's sleeping, but it's not even ten o'clock yet." John announced surprised as he looked at his watch.

"He was exhausted after his hand therapy." Dean stated with a smile letting his dad know the mission he had set out to do had been accomplished.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle. How did you get him to do it?" Bobby

questioned remembering just how upset the kid had been when he raced up the stairs earlier complaining about being treated like a baby.

"Simple, you just gotta know how to work the kid." Dean answered with a shrug. "I started building a fort with the blocks and Sammy soon joined in and helped. He had a rough time doing it and was sweating bullets by the time we we're finished thirty minutes later."

"That's fantastic Dean." John voiced happy to know that Sam finally started therapy on his hand.

"Yeah, well you might not think so after what I'm getting ready to say. I told Sammy that I was going to have you go into town tomorrow and get some more blocks so we could challenge you and Bobby to a fort building contest." Dean retorted as he glanced at his dad with a sheepish look on his face.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Bobby stated not giving John the chance to negate the idea. "We'll be glad to take that challenge."

"Awesome, but I think I'll go to town and get them myself if you guys don't mind." Dean offered with a devious thought in mind about stopping at the local diner.

"You ain't fooling me boy, I know exactly what you're planning." John smirked seeing the far away look in Dean's eyes and then laughed as his oldest shot him a _"What, I'm innocent." _look causing everybody to laugh. The moment didn't last long however as they heard a terrified scream coming from above.

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"_Hello Sammy, I've missed you. Are you ready to play again?" Hank questioned as he stood over Sam holding a pair of pliers, a most sadistic look of glee on his face. _

_In the blink of an eye, Sam found himself handcuffed to the chair in the basement once again. "Noooo, this can't be happening, not again. You're de-dead." Sam stated as he began to shiver uncontrollably. Where was his dad? Where was Dean?_

"_Did you honestly think something as insignificant as death could keep somebody like me down?" Hank questioned as he grabbed hold of Sam's hand, forcing him to hold out his index finger. _

"_But they sa-salted and burned you, you ca-can't come back." Sam answered as tears flooded his eyes, "You can't hu-hurt me anymore._

"_Well, let's jut see about that you little piece of shit." Hank answered as he placed the pliers to Sam's fingernail and slowly began to pull it off with a look of pure evil in his eyes._

"_Noooo" Sam screamed aloud as he felt the pain of his fingernail being ripped off before Hank started in on another finger, taking them all off in quick succession. _

"Deannnn" Sam screamed out in terror for his brother as he started thrashing around trying to get away from the psychotic maniac that had him in his grips once again. Suddenly, he felt hands grasp him, trying to hold him still and he lashed out with everything he had in him. "Noooo, leave me alone you bastard, don't touch me."

"Sammy shh, it's okay, you're safe little brother. It's me, calm down" Dean voiced as he tried to break through the nightmare that had Sam held firmly in it's clutches as Sam fought him. He knew he would have bruises in the morning from the hits he was taking but he could care less.

"Dean, Dad, somebody please." Sam pleaded as he continued his frantic struggle to get free wondering how he had ended up back in the basement of torture when he last remembered being at Bobby's place.

"Sammy, come on tiger, I've got you, just please wake up." Dean prodded as he scooted in behind his trembling brother and pulled him to his chest before gently carding his fingers through his baby brother's hair. Glancing towards his dad and Bobby, he could see the worry on their faces as his own eyes began to mist over with tears.

Hearing the sound of his brother's voice, Sam clung to the wonderful sound and was finally able to pull himself out of the deep, dark place that he was in. "De'n?" He questioned tremulously afraid to believe it was true, that Dean was there with him.

"Yeah, it's me kiddo, you're safe now." Dean answered as he placed his forehead onto Sammy's hair and sighed in relief at finally having awoken his baby brother.

Spotting his dad and Bobby walking towards them, Sam reached up and wiped the tears from his face as he hung his head in embarrassment at having the hunters seeing him in his moment of weakness.

Reaching out to grasp Sam by the chin, John gently lifted his head so they could see eye to eye. "Sammy, there's nothing to be embarrassed about son. You went through hell, so it's not a bit surprising that night terrors are invading your dreams kiddo." He stated as he pulled Sam into his shoulder and rubbed a hand up and down his back to offer what little comfort he could.

"Kay" Sam whispered as he closed his eyes and lay his head on his dad's shoulder and close his eyes in exhaustion.

Feeling the tension ease from Sam's body, John gently glided him back to lay down on the bed. "Get some sleep tiger, we'll be right here." He said as he sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his thumb along Sam's cheek until his breathing evened out in sleep.

"S'okay dad, you and Bobby can go. I've got him." Dean said as he lay down behind Sammy and wrapped an arm over him in protection. He knew Sammy needed the contact if he was going to be able to sleep through the night without another nightmare waking him.

"See you in the morning then." John intoned as he ruffled Sam's hair one more time before standing up and walking towards the door. He took one last glance at Sam to make sure he was okay before turning off the light and shutting the door, secure in the knowledge that his youngest would be safe with Dean at his side.

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Early the next morning, Sam and Dean walked down the stairs to find Bobby in the kitchen cooking breakfast while the sound of the shower running in the bathroom informed them of their dad's whereabouts. "Morning Bobby." Dean called out as he and Sammy entered the kitchen to see what Bobby was cooking. Dean had been hoping for pancakes with a side of sausage but instead found Bobby making a pot of _Cream of Wheat _for breakfast. Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he shivered at the thought of having to eat what basically amounted to porridge for breakfast.

"Aw Bobby, did you have to make that stuff? After dinner last night I was hoping for something more edible this morning." Dean intoned as he sat down to drink his coffee, Sam taking the seat beside him.

"Relax Dean, I think you'll find out you like this stuff once I add some cinnamon to it to give it a better taste." Bobby retorted as he added the cinnamon flavoring and then tasted the mix. Adding a little more, he stirred the hot cereal mix and then removed it from the stove just as John arrived for breakfast. Putting the mix into a bowl and placing it on the table, he removed some strawberries from the refrigerator and placed them on the table as well. "Eat up boys." Bobby encouraged as he scooped some of the porridge into a bowl and placed it in front of the boys whom he considered to be like his own children.

"Gee thanks." Dean voiced as he dipped his spoon into the food and hesitantly took a small bite, surprised to find that it actually did taste pretty good with the cinnamon flavoring that Bobby had added. Reaching out for the diced strawberries, he placed a few into the hot cereal and then proceeded to eat with gusto.

"See, I told ya, you'd like it." Bobby stated with a grin as he surreptitiously looked over at Sammy to make sure he was eating too. The kid wasn't eating as much as he hoped, but at least he was making an attempt at it. He was getting ready to fix his own bowl of Cream of Wheat when the phone rang.

"Singer here." He stated as he listened to the caller from the other side. Once he had finished with the caller, he hung up the phone and said, "That was Mike. The parts I ordered for the Chevelle have arrived and he needs me to pick them up later this morning."

"I can do that for you Bobby. I was planning on going to town anyway to pick up a few things." Dean offered quickly knowing it would give him the perfect excuse to pick up that juicy burger he had thought about earlier.

"That would be great Dean thanks. You can take Sammy with you and that'll give both you boys a chance to get out of the house for a while." Bobby stated knowing it would be good for the youngest Winchester to get out and get a little fresh air.

"No, that's alright. I'd rather stay here." Sam answered as he fiddled with the hole in the knee of his jeans, not yet ready to be around a crowd of people.

"You sure Sammy? It might do you some good to get out for a little while." John said with concern.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm just gonna go back up to my room if that's okay." Sam said before pushing away from the table, leaving only half of his breakfast eaten. He slowly trudged back up the steps and took refuge in the room that he and Dean shared. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of the Impala driving off and he sighed as he lay down on the bed and faced the wall just before he heard the squeaking sound of the door being opened.

"Sammy? You okay?" Dean questioned as he walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, worry evident in his voice.

"Dean, I thought you left." Sam said with surprise as he roll over to face his brother.

"Nah, didn't want to go without my pain in the as little brother to drive me crazy so dad and Bobby went instead." Dean answered softly. "What's wrong kiddo, and don't you dare tell me you're fine. I know when you've got something bothering you so spill."

"I just, I'm not ready to be around a bunch of strangers yet and I didn't want everybody to think I was weak because of it." Sam answered honestly feeling embarrassed once again.

"Sam, nobody is going to think you're weak, we all know what you've been through. Hell kiddo, we know it's going to take some time to adjust and we'll be right there behind you when you're ready to tackle things head on once again. Until then, stop beating yourself up about things or I'm going to have to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours." Dean touted as he lightly slugged Sam in the shoulder before ruffling his hair. "Now, what do you say you get your lazy ass out of this bed and we start making plans on how to outsmart dad and Bobby once we challenge them to see who can build the best fort."

"Jerk" Sam replied with a smile as he brushed Dean's hand away with his arm and climbed from the bed.

"Bitch" Dean retorted with a grin, happy to at least see his brother smiling again.

**TBC **


	25. Chapter 25

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 25**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything recognizable in this chapter including Star Wars…that belongs to George Lucas!

**Author's Note: **I know nothing about battle simulations, so if I got things wrong, I am truly sorry!

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**Previously: **_"I just, I'm not ready to be around a bunch of strangers yet and I didn't want everybody to think I was weak because of it." Sam answered honestly feeling embarrassed once again._

As they sat huddled in Bobby's living room making plans on how to build a better fort than their dad and Bobby, Dean also thought about how he could start building Sam's confidence once again. He knew if Sam continued hiding himself away at Bobby's, that he would never fully recover from his harrowing ordeal with that bastard Hank Reynolds and he wasn't about to let that happen. He was getting his little brother back come hell or high water. Deciding on a course of action, he decided to put it into plan. "Hey Sammy, I've been thinking.

"Oh crap, that's never a good thing." Sam responded with a smirk as he glanced over at his brother.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I do come up with some good ideas once in a while little brother." Dean answered with a pout that put a smile on his baby brother's face.

"Yeah, once every decade." Sam retorted as he slapped his brother playfully on the knee with his good hand. "So what were you thinking about?"

"Well, I was thinking after dinner tonight that you and I could go cruising around town in the Impala, maybe take in a movie." Dean answered with a hopeful voice as he watched Sammy for his reaction.

"Dean, I don't think…"

"Come on Sam, it will be fun. You don't even have to get out of the car, we'll go to a drive-in. _Star Wars, the Phantom Menace _is playing and I know how much you like Star Wars so what do you say kiddo? Will you at least do it for me?"

Chewing on his bottom lip a little nervously, Sam asked. "Just a cruise around town and a drive-in, you promise you won't make me go anywhere I don't want to?"

"Yeah dude, I promise on the stack of Hustler magazines I have hidden at the bottom of my duffle bag, and don't you dare tell dad." Dean answered eliciting another smile from his baby brother.

"Kay" Sam replied hoping he wouldn't regret it later.

"Thanks tiger, I promise you wont regret it." Dean stated with a grin a mile wide. He couldn't wait to get Sam out in the open air and enjoying life again. It was just going to take a few nudges in the right direction. Now all he had to do was convince his dad to let them go out alone.

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Returning a few hours later from their drive into town, Bobby and John walked into the house to find Dean and Sam sitting on the sofa in front of the television watching Poltergeist. Rolling his eyes, John said, "I can't believe you boys like to watch that crap knowing how wrong they always get things."

"That's what makes it so fun dad, We can poke fun at how the writers don't know their behinds from a hole in the ground when it comes to the supernatural." Sam answered with a soft voice.

"Yeah, if they ever faced what we do, they'd probably wet their pants in fear." Dean added with a wicked grin as he nudged Sam with his shoulder before asking, "Hey dad, did you remember to pick up another set of blocks?"

"Sure did, and we bought an Army action set too. Figured if we were going to be building some forts that we might as well have a mock battle." John answered with a smug look as he saw the astounded look on the faces of both his sons.

"Cristo!" Sam exclaimed loudly knowing that his dad had to have been possessed to do such a thing. John Winchester never took the time to play with him and Dean, even when they were little. He was too focused on the hunt to do much of anything else.

Laughing aloud, John said, "I'm not possessed kiddo. I just thought it would be nice for a change to have some fun with my boys, and besides, it'll also be a lesson in tactical maneuvers ya know."

"Awesome" Dean retorted after he got over the initial shock at hearing what his dad had to say.

"Well then, let the games begin." Bobby stated smugly as he handed Dean their materials which consisted of more children's blocks, a packet of toy Army soldiers and artillery. Once the materials had been evenly divided, the two teams settled in to get their forts built. Bobby had no doubt that he and John would be the winners in the mock battle simulation since both of them were war veterans. They would most definitely put the Winchester boys to shame.

Carrying their materials outside, the hunters placed a large sheet of plywood between their two camps so that they would be able to create their forts without prying eyes from the opposing side.

"Okay Sammy, let's show dad and Bobby a thing or two about building a fort and battle simulations." Dean said as he and Sam began to lay the foundation. Knowing the best way to protect their fort would be with some underground bunkers, Dean pulled out his pen knife and began to dig while Sam placed the blocks according to the plan they had come up with earlier. Dean knew it would be painstaking work for the youngest Winchester, but Sam needed the therapy.

A few hours later, after each side had finished with their preparations, the plywood was removed between the two forts and the mock battle began.

"Wow, your fort looks pretty impressive." John admitted as he looked over to see the medieval type fort that the boys had made.

"Thanks dad." Dean stated with a smug grin as he used his foot to trip the little catapult he had set up and sent a stone flying right into the middle of John and Bobby's toy soldiers that were set up to protect their fortress.

"You rotten little sneak." Bobby grumbled as he watched some of his platoon fall under the unexpected attack. The walls they had built around their citadel type fort crumbled under the assault and they lost more than half their toy soldiers to the sneak attack.

"Hey old man, you do what you gotta do to win." Dean retorted as the battle then proceeded in earnest.

Each side took a lot of hits in the ninety minute battle that commenced. Dean and Sam lost a third of the soldiers in frontline skirmishes, while John and Bobby's fell in strategic and tactical maneuvers. Each camp removed their _'dead' _before commencing with new battles, but in the end, the bunkers stood firm from all attacks Bobby and John sent their way and the boys were declared the victorious winners.

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Later that evening after they sat down to dinner and Sammy had had a chance to rest, Dean decided to talk to their dad about the idea of taking Sam out to the movies. They had all gathered in the living room to watch some television when Dean said, "Hey dad, I was talking with Sammy earlier and we were thinking about maybe going to the movies this evening."

"Dean, I don't know if that's such a good idea. I'm not sure Sammy is ready for it and I definitely don't like you boys being out alone after dark. You know what kind of things come out after dark."

"Come on dad, you know that I'll be careful and watching our backs at all times. Besides, Sammy agreed to go and he needs to get out of the house and get some fresh air. He needs to start being around other people again so he can rebuild his confidence. You know I'll do anything to make sure he stays safe. What do you say?" Dean asked with a pleading voice.

"Now that you put it that way, I guess you're right. You boys can go, but if there is any hint of danger, and I mean _any_ little thing, you boys better haul ass back here. Do you understand?" John said in a commanding tone.

"Yes Sir" Dean replied with a smile just before looking over towards his little brother. "Grab your jacket Sammy, we don't want to be late."

Helping Sam into his jacket, Dean buttoned it up for him before the boys then gave a wave and were out the door before John even had a chance to tell them to be careful. Quickly getting into the Impala on their respective sides, Dean fired up the engine and pulled out of the drive, setting off towards town to the sound of _Back in Black _blasting on the speakers.

"Hey Sam, you doing okay?" Dean questioned as he looked over to see Sam slouched in his seat as he looked out the window. Sam hadn't said more than ten words on their twenty minute drive and he was beginning to worry if maybe this had been a bad idea.

"Yeah, M'okay" Sam answered with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Trying to get Sam out the funk he was in, Dean said, "Cool, then tell me you feel up to running through a drive through and getting some honest to goodness food cause I gotta tell ya dude, that crap Bobby is feeding us, it's about to make me barf if I don't eat some real food soon."

Turning towards his brother with an honest to goodness smile this time, Sam replied. "Boy am I ever, that tofu Bobby made tonight was awful wasn't it?"

"Is that what _that_ was? No wonder it tasted so freaking bad." Dean replied with a grin of his own.

"Yeah, I know Bobby is trying to do what Jefferson asked, I just wish he wouldn't go so overboard." Sam said as they pulled into drive thru line of the Taco Bell restaurant.

"You want me to talk to him and dad about it?" Dean questioned as he glanced at Sam.

"No, I don't want to hurt Bobby's feelings. Besides, the food is actually good for us you know."

"I wish you'd tell my stomach that." Dean replied as his stomach chose that very moment to rumble loudly causing both boys to burst into giggles.

"_Damn that sure sounds good." _Dean thought to himself as they waited their turn in line. It had been too damn long since he heard the sound of Sammy's laughter.

Ordering a few burritos and a couple of sodas. Dean paid for the food items and then drove to the Sioux City Drive In. Finding a parking spot where not too many cars were close by, Dean and Sam began munching on the food as the opening credits of _Star Wars, the Phantom Menace _began to play.

Thoroughly enjoying themselves as the movie progressed, Dean was pleased to see Sam becoming more relaxed and animated about the things that were happening on the big screen. He took enjoyment in listening to Sammy iscussing parts of the movie instead of being the quiet kid he had been for much too long. Smiling to himself, he couldn't imagine a more perfect night right now than sitting beside his baby brother and watching the awesome space prequel to the Star Wars trilogy!

**TBC** _ Hope you enjoyed this light hearted chapter. _


	26. Chapter 26

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 26**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything recognizable in this chapter including Star Wars…that belongs to George Lucas! The Winchesters belong to Eric Kripke.

**Warning: **There is cursing ahead by a very mad Dean!

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**Previously: **_Smiling to himself, Dean couldn't imagine a more perfect night right now than sitting beside his baby brother and watching the awesome space prequel to the Star Wars trilogy!_

Approximately an hour into the movie, Dean was beginning to feel the pangs of thirst after having eaten the burritos with the fiery hot sauce he had added to them. Looking towards Sam, he said, "Hey Sammy, I need something else to drink, you wanna go to the concession stand with me dude?"

"Nah, I think I'll just stay here in the car if it's alright with you. You won't be gone too long will you?" Sam questioned as he glanced at Dean while chewing on his bottom lip, a little nervous about being left alone for the first time since the attack, but not wanting to be around a crowd of people.

"No longer than it takes to get us both a Coke and some popcorn." Dean answered knowing that he wouldn't be able to resist the buttery snack once he smelled it.

"Kay." Sam replied as he focused on the movie once again to see little Anakin in the big race as his brother climbed out of the car and walked away.

Reaching the concession stand, Dean groaned at the long line of people waiting to buy their own snacks. He was hoping to get their drinks and popcorn fairly quickly so he could get back to Sammy as soon as possible. He really didn't like leaving Sam out of his sight for too long now. "Come on, would ya hurry it up?" He whispered as he watched the people who were slowly getting things behind the stand. _"Hell, a turtle would be faster than them."_ He thought as he glanced out at the window. He couldn't see Sammy sitting in the car since it was too far back, but at least nobody was around the vehicle. He hated the thought of leaving Sammy alone for more than just a few minutes by himself. If the line didn't start moving soon, he would just have to do without the snacks or go back to the car and try to talk Sammy into coming back to the concession stand with him.

"Finally" Dean stated as the line started to move at a more decent pace after a new person manned the cash registers, now they were getting somewhere. Arriving at the counter, he ordered two large Cokes and a barrel of popcorn with extra butter. The movie was a long one and he wanted to make sure he had plenty to snack on. After all, he was still a growing boy.

Carrying the snacks out of the concession stand, he started walking towards the car. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness again, he looked towards the car and his blood boiled at what he saw. "Son of a bitch." He swore as he dropped the snacks and took off at a run.

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John sat nervously staring at the clock on the wall. It had been over two hours since his boys left. He was glad that Dean had been able to talk Sammy into getting out of the house, but he also worried that something would happen causing Sammy to backslide once again. Looking over towards the door, he sighed as he chewed on his bottom lip.

"John, would you please calm down. The boys have only been gone for a couple of hours." Bobby stated with a roll of his eyes. The kid is going to be just fine.

"I hope you're right Bobby. It's just that I have this sinking feeling in my gut that something is going to happen." John replied as he glanced towards the door once again.

"That's normal John since this is the first time Sammy has been out of your eyesight someplace other than here. Of course you're going to feel anxious, but that doesn't mean anything is going to happen." Bobby said.

"Yeah, and what if it does? You know how Winchester luck is Bobby. Lady Luck likes to kick us when we're down."

"But I also know how ferocious Dean is. He's like a lion when it comes to protecting that little brother of his. You can bet if anything happens, Dean will be kicking ass and taking names later John so just calm down."

"I guess you're right. I just wish I would have told Dean no, or better yet went with them. At least then I would know everything is okay." John replied with a furtive glance to the clock on the wall.

Knowing that John wouldn't be able to relax until his boys got home, Bobby walked into the kitchen to grab them both a beer. At least it would take a little of the edge off until Dean and Sammy walked through that door relieving John's worry's once and for all. "Here, drink this. It will help ya to relax some" Bobby told John as he held out the brown colored long neck bottle.

"Thanks Bobby" John automatically stated as he reached out and took the beer. Twisting off the top, he chugged down some of the cool beverage. Damn, time sure was moving slow.

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Watching the movie, Sam was beginning to get a little anxious wondering why Dean hadn't returned yet. He said he would only be gone a couple of minutes, but it was way past that now. Glancing out the window towards the concession stand, he saw four tough looking dudes walking towards the car. He quickly glanced around to see if maybe somebody else had parked near, but found no other cars near them. He was about to roll the windows up on the car , when he was surprised by another person who placed his hands on the door to keep the window from being rolled up making him jump.

"What's the matter kid, you scared?"

Sam looked at the scruffy looking character who looked to be about Dean's age. He was wearing torn jeans and a shirt with some kind of logo on it and his hair looked as if it hadn't been washed in days. "No, you just surprised me is all." Sam replied trying not to show his fear as the other four approached. There was no way he could take them on by himself. _"Where are you Dean?" _He thought anxiously as he looked towards the concession stand once again praying his brother would come out soon.

"I think you're lying kid. I think you are afraid." The hoodlum replied as he snatched open the door of the car and leaned against it with his arms crossing his chest, the other four running their hands over the car appreciatively.

"Look, you better get out of here. My brother is going to be back in a minute and he doesn't like it when other people touch his car." Sam stated hoping the guys would just leave and not start any trouble.

"Yeah, well he isn't here right now is he kid." The punk replied as he reached inside and grabbed Sam's arm forcefully pulling him out of the car.

"Let me go." Sam growled as he tried to pull his arm out of the goons grasp.

"Hey guys, looks like we got us a fighter here." Gage stated with a smirk. "What do you say we teach tough boy here a lesson?"

"Yeah, then we'll take his car for a spin, see how he likes that." One of the others called out threateningly.

"Please, just leave me alone. I don't want any trouble.' Sam informed them as he kept trying to pull free.

"S'too bad kid, cause we do." Gage answered as he yanked the arm with the brace on it behind Sam's back. "We're gonna kick your ass kid and then we're going to take your car. And if your bother shows up, he'll get an ass kickin too!"

Forcing Sam to his knees, the punk was about to give him a swift kick in the kidney when he heard "Hey, get the hell away from my brother before I kill you, you son of a bitch." He looked up just in time to see Dean diving towards him. Letting go of Sam to protect himself, he was knocked to the ground as Dean straddled his chest and began punching him.

"Nobody touches my brother you freaking asshole." Dean voiced with a deadly menace just as he himself was tackled from behind. Deftly rolling to the side, he was able to dislodge his attacker and quickly jammed his elbow into the punk's ribs. Seconds later, he found himself fighting a third guy as another thug decided to join the battle.

"Leave him alone you bastards." Sam swore as he got to his feet. He might not be able to use both hands to fight, but there was nothing wrong with his legs. Drawing his right one back, he swiftly kicked the guy attempting to tackle Dean from the back between the legs. Dean's attacker suddenly let go, howling in pain as he grasped his private area and fell to the ground in terrible pain.

"Way to go Sammy." Dean cheered as he worked to subdue the two that he was currently fighting with. Delivering a punch the blonde one's nose, he felt the cartilage crunch beneath his knuckles and then delivered a knockout blow to right side of his face. He soon felt a swift kick to his own ribs as one of the other attackers joined the fray with the last one going after Sammy. He heard his brother holler out in pain just before he looked over to see him on his knees, cradling his injured hand to his chest.

"I'm gonna kill you, you f*cking bastard! Dean vehemently swore as he freed himself. Rushing towards the guy who had hurt Sam, he delivered a roundhouse kick to the man's chest and watched him fall to the ground with a loud thud. He was about to pounce on him when he heard an authorative shout.

"Everybody freeze." a police officer hollered as he aimed his pistol towards the fracas. "What the hell happened here?" The cop questioned as he saw three men lying on the ground unconscious, one clutching his groin area and the last just beginning to sit up with a dazed look on his face.

"Those bastard's attacked my brother." Dean answered with a pant as he protected his sore ribs with his arm.

"He's telling the truth officer, I saw it all." A young lady of about twenty four said as she approached from the other side. "I'm the one who called to report the attack. The younger one was just sitting in the car when he was forcefully removed from it." The girl informed the officer as she pointed towards Sammy to show who she was talking about. "They started beating on the kid when the older one arrived and tried to stop them."

Calling for back up, the officer held his gun on the attackers while waiting for help to arrive. "Are you two okay?" He questioned noting the way that both boys were protecting injured areas.

"I'm fine." Dean answered automatically, "But my brother recently had surgery on his wounded hand and I'm not sure if it's been re-injured." Dean stated as he kneeled beside Sammy who was now leaning with his back against the Impala.

""M'okay Dean." Sam gasped breathing through the pain as he had been taught to do.

"We'll let the hospital decide that." The officer informed as he called for a couple of ambulances to handle the injured. Once you boys are checked out and the doc says everything is okay, "I'll take your statements and then you'll be free to go home."

"Dean, I don't wanna go to the hospital." Sam whispered as he leaned against his brother's shoulder.

"The man is right Sammy, you need to be checked out, especially your hand. And I could use something myself for the pain in my ribs." Dean answered honestly as he wrapped a supportive arm around his baby brother's shoulder. He couldn't help but wonder how their dad was going to react once he found out what happened.

**TBC**


	27. Chapter 27

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 27**

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**Previously: **_"The man is right Sammy, you need to be checked out, especially your hand. And I could use something myself for the pain in my ribs." Dean answered honestly as he wrapped a supportive arm around his baby brother's shoulder. He couldn't help but wonder how their dad was going to react once he found out what happened._

As Dean leaned back against the ambulance watching the EMT check over Sammy's wrist, he dreaded the thought of what he was about to do. He knew without a doubt that his dad was going to flip when he found out they had been in a fight. Sighing deeply, he pulled up the contact list and pressed the call button when his dad's name was highlighted. Placing the phone to his ear, he only had to listen to it ring twice before his dad's voice came through the line with a gruff "hello."

"Hey dad, it's me." Dean said with a slight shakiness in his tone.

"Dean, what is it? What's wrong?" John questioned as soon as heard the slight edge in his son's voice.

"We, uh, kind of had a little altercation here at the movies. The police are here and they want us to go to the hospital to get checked out." Dean answered as he chewed on his bottom lip.

"You what?" John bellowed at the top of his lungs, anger immediately setting in.

Pulling the phone away from his ear, Dean winced at the anger that radiated in his dad's words. Taking a calming breath, he said, "Dad, just listen to me for a minute."

"Damn it Dean, you were supposed to be watching out for your little brother, not getting him hurt again." John yelled at his oldest, not taking the time to think about how his words might sound. "Shit Dean, you know what the kid has been through over the past few weeks, How the hell could you let him get hurt again when the two of you were supposed to be having fun?"

"M'sorry sir, I didn't mean to let you down, let Sammy down." Dean voiced solemnly as he hung his head. "I just left him alone long enough to get some popcorn and drinks for us. I should have made him go with me." Dean whispered, tears brimming his eyes.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, John knew he was wrong in venting his anger at Dean. He shouldn't be yelling at his oldest for something that he had no control over. "No, I'm sorry Dean, I shouldn't have lost my temper. I know you wouldn't have let anything happen to your brother if you could have helped it. Where are they taking you to?"

"Sioux City Memorial." Dean stated as he swiped his eyes with his shirt sleeve. "I need you to pick up the Impala here at the drive-in. I'm going to ride in the ambulance with Sammy to the hospital. He's a little shaken up and I don't want him to be alone."

"I'll have Bobby drive me there to pick up the car. Dean, how badly are you boys hurt, and don't feed me a line of bullshit either.?" John queried, afraid of what he might hear.

"We're both okay dad. Sammy's in pain from his injured wrist, but I don't think it's any wore than it was. I have a few bruised ribs, but nothing too bad." Dean answered honestly.

"Sonuva….We'll get there as fast as we can. Just take care of you're brother until then." John stated before hanging up the phone, only for Bobby to start bombarding him with questions.

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As Bobby listened in to the conversation going on between John and Dean, he cursed at only being able to hear one side of the conversation. From the look on John's face and the outburst he had made, he knew something bad had happened and that the boys were involved. It pissed him off to know that Winchester Luck had struck once again when the boys were supposed to be enjoying themselves. He felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck as he heard John tell Dean that he was supposed to watching out for Sammy, not getting him hurt again. _"What the hell just happened?" _He whispered to himself as he waited for the phone conversation to end. It was eating him up inside knowing that something had happened to the boys while he and John had been sitting there on their asses. Breathing a sigh of relief as John hang up the phone, he started firing off questions. "John what happened? Are the boys alright? How badly was Sammy hurt? What hospital are they…?"

"Well if you'd hold up for one damned minute I could answer ya." John stated as he held up his hand. Apparently the boys were accosted while they were at the movies. According to Dean, he had left Sammy alone for just a few minutes to get them some popcorn and drinks when it happened. Dean said they're not hurt too badly, but that the police want to have them checked over by a doctor." John told the hunter who had been one of his mentors. "They're taking the boys to Sioux City Memorial now."

"Well what are we waiting for, let's get to the boys." Bobby stated as he reached over to get his jacket that was hanging on a hook by the door as he pulled his keys from his pocket."

"We've got to pick up the Impala from the drive-in on the way to the hospital." John informed Bobby as he followed him out the door. "Dean didn't want to leave Sammy to ride alone in the ambulance.'

Hearing the words made Bobby's fears raise just a little more for the boys wondering if Dean had been totally honest about their injuries. He knew what the car meant to Dean and how much it would irk him to leave it behind. Climbing in behind the wheel of his blue 1968 Ford 350 truck, Bobby waited for John to get in before firing up the engine. Glancing toward his friend as they pulled out of the drive, he could see how nervous John was by the way his leg was bouncing in nervousness. He knew John wouldn't be able to relax until he was able to see for himself that his boys were indeed okay.

The drive into town was rather quiet as each hunter was lost in their own thoughts about what had happened. Each hunter secretly wished that they would have the chance to meet up with the boys who dared lay a hand on Sammy after everything he had been through, If they had their way, those boys would be drinking out of a straw for a long time to come.

Arriving at the drive-in, John quickly located the Impala and was thankful that the owner of the drive-in had one of his employees keeping an eye on it until it could be picked up, thinking it was the least he could do after what had happened at his establishment. Checking it over for any damage, he was happy to see that the car had come through the scuffles unscathed, and even more so for the fact that neither of his son's blood had been spilled on it for him to see.

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Arriving at the hospital, Dean refused treatment for himself until he made sure that Sammy was checked out first. He needed to know that his baby brother was alright and that his hand wasn't re-injured worse than it already was. Sitting by the hospital bed that Sam was now laying on, he carded his fingers through Sammy's hair. "How ya doing tiger?" He questioned with a smile as he noted the glazed expression in Sam's eyes.

"M'Okay, just feel a little weird is all" Sam answered as he tried to focus on Dean's face. The pain medicine they had given him on the way in had made him feel a little woozy and was making him feel kind of nauseous.

"That's because of the meds they gave you." Dean replied just as the door to the treatment room opened and he looked up to see an orderly with a wheelchair. After examining Sam's hand, the doctor had decided an x-ray was in order to make sure that everything was still in place as it should be. "Time to get up kiddo, you're chariot awaits." Dean informed Sam as he helped him off the gurney and into the chair. Following the orderly to the lab, Dean stood by the door where Sammy could see him as they x-rayed his hand. There was no way he was leaving the kid out of his sight ever again.

Thirty minutes later, they found themselves back in the treatment room as they waited for the results of the x-rays. Sam was laying on the small bed in the treatment room once again while Dean sat on the edge of it, finally allowing the doctor to wrap his bruised ribs. He had just put his shirt back on when he heard the door open to see his dad and Bobby walking through it as the doctor left.

"Hey dad, Bobby." Dean said as he winced while getting up off the bed to meet the two hunters across the room.

Scanning his oldest from head to toe for any visible signs of injuries, John knew right away that Dean definitely had some bruised ribs with the stiff posture he was maintaining. He also noticed the bruise forming around one of Dean's eyes that would probably make for a nice shiner in the morning. Palming his cheek to get a good look at the swollen eye, he said, "Damn Dean, looks like you took a few good hits there son."

"That's nothing compared to what the other guys got." Dean bragged with a smile as he walked back over and sat on the edge of Sam's bed and patted his baby brother on the leg. "You should have seen Sammy boy dad. He showed those bastards what happens when you mess with the Winchesters."

"He did huh?" John smirked as he reached out to ruffle his youngest son's hair and noticed the blush that was creeping up on Sam's cheeks even though he was obviously a little still dazed from the medicine.

"Hell yeah, Sammy gave one of those guys a good swift kick to the gonads which should have him singing in the falsetto range for a good time to come." Dean stated with obvious glee in his voice. "The bastard deserved it too. I bet the numb nut will think twice before he ever tries taking on a kid with a brace on his arm again."

"Numb nut, that's a good one Dean." Sam giggled as he fought the effects of the medication and exhaustion that was trying to take him out for the count.

Smiling at his obviously drugged son's stupor, John gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "Sounds like you fought pretty well tiger, but you took a big risk with that injured hand of yours you know."

"I couldn't just stand by and watch them ganging up on Dean Dad, I had to do some-something." Sam stated with a yawn as his eyes slowly began to droop, the effects of the medication finally becoming too much for him.

"I know you did Sammy, S'okay kiddo, you get some sleep." John encouraged as he once again carded his fingers through Sam's hair, grateful that his youngest wasn't hurt badly in the fight. Like with Dean, Sam had a few noticeable bruises, but he seemed to be doing relatively okay. Hopefully, the doctor would be releasing the boys soon and they could head back to the salvage yard.

**TBC **


	28. Chapter 28

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 28**

**Warning: Some cursing ahead**

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**Previously: **_S'okay kiddo, you get some sleep." John encouraged as he once again carded his fingers through Sam's hair, grateful that his youngest wasn't hurt badly in the fight. Like with Dean, Sam had a few noticeable bruises, but he seemed to be doing relatively okay. Hopefully, the doctor would be releasing the boys soon and they could head back to the salvage yard._

Once his youngest was safely asleep on the bed with his big brother watching over him, John and Bobby decided to walk down to the cafeteria for a cup of some badly needed caffeine while they waited to see whether or not the boys would be released tonight. As they walked down the hallway, they passed by one of the treatment rooms and overheard the conversation going on inside.

"Just you wait until I get out of here, those two assholes are going to wish they never met the likes of me." Gage stated as he ranted and raved about the broken nose he now sported from the fight. "If that little bastard thought his hand was hurting already, he'll really know what pain is when I get through with his sorry ass."

"You can have the whiny little bitch, it's his big brother I can't wait to get my hands on" One of the others sneered as he held his hand to his wounded ribs. "I'm going to how kill that….what the hell?" He gasped as he suddenly found himself grasped by the collar and tugged up to look into the eyes of one of the meanest looking men he had ever seen.

"You sorry little sons of bitches think you're so tough, well I'm here to tell you that your nothing but frigging cowards for attacking my son when it was obvious he was already injured." John spat into the punk's face with hatred showing in his eyes. "You better count your lucky stars that an eye witness called the cops or you would be six feet under right now." John informed the punk as he backhanded him harshly across the face.

Seeing that John was too focused on the one hoodlum to notice the other coming around, Bobby grabbed him by the lapels and gave him a quick jab to the ribs. "What the hell do you think you're up to ya good for nothing piece of garbage?"

"Get your hands off of me." Gage snarled, fear evident in his eyes wondering who in the hell these men were for entering their hospital room.

"Gladly" Bobby answered as he slammed the ruffian against the wall before pushing him butt first into the large trash receptacle in the room. "I always make sure to throw out the trash."

Returning to the ER room after getting a cup of coffee, Officer Greg Young was surprised to hear the sounds of scuffling coming from the treatment room where he had left two of the boys to be seen about. Rushing into the room, he saw two angry looking men in a confrontation with the two thugs he had left there. "What the hell is going on in here?" He questioned in a booming voice filled with authority.

Turning in anger, John noticed the police officer standing before him and reined in his rage. "These two pieces of filth were just threatening my boys." John answered as he glared at the two hooligans once again. "My friend and I were just walking by and happened to overhear them talking about what they were going to do to them once they get out of here." John ended his statement with one last swing of his fist which caught the unsuspecting thug he was holding by surprise.

"Son of a bitch, did you see what he just did? I want him arrested for assault and battery." The boy groaned out as he fell to his knees clutching his extremely painful right eye with his hand. There was no doubt it would be swollen shut within minutes.

"What, I didn't see anything" Greg stated as he stood looking ahead innocently. He couldn't blame the father for losing his cool after the way they had attacked his sons, especially with one of them unable to really defend himself. "As for assault and battery, I'd say this man has every right to press charges against you and your friends for what you've done tonight if he is so willing."

"No, I think my boys have gotten justice." John said as he shook out the pain in his fist. "As long as they stay away from my boys, then I won't press charges. But if they come around again…" John left the menacing statement open ended with just enough of a threat that he hoped they wouldn't have to deal with the hooligans anymore.

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A few hours after having returned from their coffee run, John was given the word that he could finally take his boys home. The ER doctor had instructed him to keep a close eye on Sam's hand and return to the hospital immediately if they were any signs of swelling or an increase in pain. Breathing a sigh of relief, John had loaded the boys up in the Impala with Sam taking over the back seat where he could stretch out and sleep since he was still pretty well medicated to the gills. Pulling out of the hospital parking lot, he fell in line behind Bobby as they headed back to Singer Salvage.

"Hey Dad, I know you're pretty upset about what happened, and I'm willing to accept whatever punishment you hand out for not doing my job, but please don't be mad at Sammy for fighting with his busted hand, he was just trying to protect me." Dean said as he chewed on his bottom lip now that they were alone. He had been waiting a while to have this talk and wanted to do it in private so no one would witness him being dressed down for not protecting Sammy.

"Wait a minute Dean, what gives you the impression that I'm mad and plan on punishing you?" John questioned, honestly perplexed by what his son had just said.

"I just thought with the way you let me have it over the phone that I was in for…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that Ace." John said interrupting his oldest child. "You just caught me by surprise when you called and I kind of let my mouth get away with me, but I know the fight wasn't your fault. And son, I could never be mad at your brother for doing something that I have instilled in you two for years, to protect each other."

Dean was taken aback by his father's apology since he was sure John was going to let him have it with both barrel for getting into a fight, especially one where the law had been called in. ""Cristo." He muttered under his breath just to make sure than John hadn't been possessed since the last time he saw him.

"Very funny Dean." John retorted as he rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Just making sure Dad." Dean snickered as he slumped down in his seat and lay his head towards the window, it had been a long night.

John smiled as he reached over and ruffled Dean's hair with his hand only to have it slapped away as Dean mumbled something about no chick flick moments. Glancing into the rearview mirror, he adjusted it to take a look at Sam who was still sleeping soundly on the back seat. He hated seeing the bruise on his cheek, knowing that Sam had had more than enough of those to last him a lifetime over the past few weeks. But he had gotten a little payback for his boys which gave him a feeling of contentment. Seeing the turn signal flashing on Bobby's truck, he was surprised to find they had already made it back to the salvage yard. "Damn that was a fast trip." He muttered as he swiped a calloused hand across his jaw.

Parking the Impala beside Bobby's truck, he watched the hunter climb out and walk around the back of the truck to offer assistance if needed. Reaching over to shake Dean's shoulder, John watched as his son opened weary eyes before stretching as best he could in the car. "Go on inside Dean, I'll help your brother." John told his oldest as he watched Dean open the car door.

Climbing out of the car himself, John eased the rear door open as he leaned inside the car. "Sammy, time to wake up and get you back inside Bobby's house." John softly voiced as he placed a hand on his son's leg and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Huh?" Sam questioned before snuggling under Dean's jacket that had been placed over him halfway through the trip home and emitting a soft snore.

"Come on Tiger, you too big for me to carry now." John voiced with a smile as he gently tugged on Sam's good arm to pull him into a sitting position. Seeing the glazed look in Sam's eyes and knowing that he was pretty well out of it, John wrapped an arm around Sam's waist and hoisted him to his feet.

"Alright kiddo, one foot in front of the other." John encouraged as he half prodded, half dragged Sam along.

"You need any help with him?" Bobby questioned as he closed the rear door on the Impala and strolled up on the other side of Sammy.

"Nah, I've got him, thanks Bobby." John answered content with the feeling of being the one to help his baby boy for a change. Climbing the front porch steps, he waited for Bobby to open the screen door and then followed the hunter inside before leading Sam up to his and Dean's room.

Lowering his youngest onto the bed into a sitting position, he bent down and untied his shoes before taking them off. Pulling off Sam's socks, he was surprised when Sam jerked his feet away and started giggling.

"St-stop dad, that tickles." Sammy slurred with a giggle as he wobbled slightly on the bed just as Dean walked into the room after having stopped by the bathroom.

"Whoa there Sammy." Dean said as he placed a steadying hand on his brothers shoulders to keep him from falling off the bed.

"M'okay Dean." Sam stated as he looked up at his brother with a grin on his face. "We sure kicked their asses didn't we?"

"You got that right Sammy." Dean answered as he lowered Sam back onto the bed. "Time for you to go back to sleep."

"Not tired." Sam replied with a yawn as his dad unsnapped his jeans, lowered the zipper and began to pull them off.

"Sure you not kiddo." Dean agreed as he watched Sammy slowly close his eyes and fade off to sleep. Brushing his fingers through Sam's hair, he winced at the sight of the bruise on his cheek knowing that Sam should have never gotten it in the first place. "G'night Tiger." He whispered just before pulling the comforter over his brother and going to his own bed.

"See you boys in the morning." John whispered before turning off the light and closing the door. It was well past midnight and he was in desperate need of sleep himself.

**TBC. Just one or two more chapters to go I think. Hope you enjoyed this one!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 29**

**Warning: Some cursing ahead**

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**Previously: **_"See you boys in the morning." John whispered before turning off the light and closing the door. It was well past midnight and he was in desperate need of sleep himself._

The next morning at breakfast, John couldn't help but notice how much more confident Sam seemed of himself. After having showered, he had come down the steps surefooted and ready to face the day. John was pleased when Sam had looked both him and Bobby in the eye and stated a cheerful "Good morning." Before taking his place at the breakfast table.

"Looks like somebody has woken up in a good mood this morning." Bobby said with a grin, happy to see things finally starting to get back to normal with the youngest Winchester as he placed a plate of pancakes in front of Sammy.

"Yes Sir." Sam replied as he picked up his fork and cut into the scrumptious mound of breakfast food before forking a decent sized helping and munching down on it. Using his uninjured hand, he grasped the glass of milk and lifted it from the table and took a big swallow. "Hey Dad, I was hoping maybe you would help me with my hand exercises today." Sam said as he placed the glass back onto the table.

John's mouth dropped open in surprise at his son's request. Whenever Sammy needed something, he always wanted Dean to be the one to do it for him. "Are you sure kiddo? I mean I know you would probably be more comfortable with Dean." John voiced a little ashamed.

"Yeah Dad, I'm sure. Dean's been helping me everyday and it's not fair to him. Besides, I thought maybe we could spend a little time together and talk, I mean if it's okay with you."

"Yeah Tiger, I'd love to spend some time just talking with you." John said with a huge smile. He had promised Bobby to help him with a repair job that needed to get out today, but he knew Bobby would be more than willing to do the work himself to give him and his youngest some bonding time together.

"Thanks Dad."

"You don't have to thank me kiddo. You're my baby boy, M'happy to do it." John informed his youngest as he reached out to ruffle his hair just as Dean walked down the stairs.

"Happy to do what?" Dean questioned as he walked down the stairs dressed in blue jeans and an AC/DC shirt, his hair wet from just having had a shower.

"I'm going to help Sam with his therapy today so we can spend some time together and you can have some free time to yourself." John stated in answer to his son's question.

"Wait a minute, who said I needed some free time. You know I'm happy helping Sammy, it's my job, it's what I do."

"Yeah, but all you do is spend your time watching over and helping me." Sam broke in and said. "You need to have some fun for yourself Dean. How long has it been since you did something for just you?"

"Your brother is right Dean. Besides, I'd like to spend some time with Sammy so you are free for the afternoon to do whatever you want." John said putting an end to the discussion in his mind.

Seeing the lost look on Dean's face, Bobby piped in to say, "Hey Dean, if you don't have anything else to do, I sure could use some help on the '66 Corvette sitting out there in the yard."

"Sounds great." Dean touted with a smile as he took the seat across from his brother. If he couldn't help Sammy, then the next best thing would be working on one of Bobby's classic cars. Looking his brother over, he said, "How you feeling this morning dude?"

"M'Good. Just don't remember much about getting home last night." Sam answered knowing how strung out he had been on pain medicine.

"So you don't remember dad carrying your ass into the house and then undressing ya before he put you to bed huh." Dean said with a grin as he watched the blush rise on Sammy's face.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

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A few hours later as John encouraged Sam to flex his hand further with the stress ball, he could tell that Sammy had something on his mind. He knew his youngest was afraid to talk about it with the way his uninjured hand kept clenching while his knee bounced up and down in agitation. Knowing that Sam wouldn't start the conversation that he so obviously needed to have, he asked, "Sammy, what's on your mind son?"

"What did I do that was so bad Dad?" Sam asked a he looked at his father with questioning eyes.

"What do you mean Tiger?"

"What did I do that was so bad that made H-Hank Re-Reynolds hate me so much? Why did I deserve to be hurt the way he hurt me?" Sam asked with a quivering voice.

Feeling his heart shatter from the questions, John pulled his youngest into a firm hug. "You didn't do anything Sammy and most definitely didn't deserve what he did to you. This one was all on me. It's my fault you were kidnapped kiddo. That bastard wanted to get back at me by going through you for something that happened years ago."

Pushing away from his dad to face him, Sam saw tears glistening in his dad's eyes that were now full of guilt. "What happened to make him want revenge?" He queried needing to know so he could understand why he had been tortured unmercifully.

"I was a hunt. It happened years ago when you boys were sick and I left you with Pastor Jim. We were on the trail of a nest of vampires. Hank thought he had found the nest in an old abandoned building, but he was wrong. I discovered it was just a group of runaway kids strung out on drugs, but Hank wouldn't listen. He managed to knock me out and tie me up. He then was somehow able to grab two of the kids and tortured them, nearly killing them." Taking a deep breath, he went on to say, "When I finally woke up and got free, I beat the crap out of him for what he did to those kids, making sure that at the same time I belittled him in front of the other hunters who were with us. If I had known what he would do to one of my children years later, I would have killed him back then."

"What happened to me wasn't your fault dad, you couldn't have known what he was going to do." Sam intoned knowing the guilt was probably weighing heavily on his dad's shoulders.

"Thanks for saying so Sam, but I'll never forgive myself for allowing it to happen, for not being there to keep you from being kidnapped and tortured by that sonuvabitch!" John informed his youngest with sadness.

"Ya know Dad, when he was holding me captive in that cabin and beating me, he told me that you and Dean were probably happy to be free of me. That I was nothing but a whiny little bitch and you were probably thanking your lucky stars he took me off your hands. After so long and you guys not coming to get me, I started wondering if maybe the words were true." Sam admitted needing to get everything off of his chest.

"Oh god Sammy, I'm sorry that he filled your head with those words and that we couldn't find you sooner. We did everything we could to find you. I swear I wish I could resurrect that bastard just to kill him once again for the monster he truly was. You know his words were all lies now right? You know how much we love you don't you Sammy?"

"Yeah Dad, I know." Sam said as silent tears started rolling down his cheeks. "I love you guys too."

John pulled his youngest into his arms once again and cried silent tears with him as they sat there comforting each other. Unbeknownst to them, Dean was on the porch shedding quite a few tears of his own after having overheard the whole conversation through an open window.

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Knowing that Sammy needed the time alone with their dad, Dean pulled himself together and dried his tears before walking back to the car that he and Bobby had been working on. Picking up a socket wrench, he was about to start working when Bobby gave him a questioning look.

"Uh, Dean, where's the drinks you were supposed to be going after?" Bobby asked wanting a nice cold brew to cool himself down. He couldn't believe Dean had forgotten to bring them back.

"Before opening the door, I overheard Dad and Sammy talking about his, his…"

"Kidnapping?" Bobby questioned finally noticing how upset Dean was.

"Yeah, Damn Bobby, the kid was blaming himself. He actually asked Dad what he had done that was so bad to make that bastard do those things to him." Dean informed Bobby as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "But that wasn't the worst thing. Sam admitted that Hank was torturing him mentally too, told him that we were happy to be rid of him and were thanking our lucky stars that he had been kidnapped. Bobby, Sammy actually told dad that he began to wonder if it was true." Dean's voice broke on the last part as he slid down the side of the car and hugged his arms to himself.

"That frigging, good for nothing asshole. I wish I could raise him and kill him all over again." Bobby muttered as he clenched his fists in anger over hearing Dean's words. "Dean, you do know Sammy didn't honestly believe that right? It was just Hank playing with his head, making him believe things." Bobby intoned trying to comfort the older brother.

"I know Bobby, it just hurts so damn much knowing that he felt that way, that he wasn't wanted when that sadistic son of a bitch had him." Dean retorted as he ran a hand through his hair in agitation.

I know it does Dean, I know it does." Bobby said as he reached out to squeeze Dean's shoulder in comfort. Ya know, there is one good thing about this latest turn of events with your dad and Sammy talking."

"And what's that Bobby?" Dean inquired wondering how anything could be good about the situation.

"At least now your brother is finally talking about that happened to him instead of keeping things inside. Now he can fully heal…physically and mentally.

"Yeah, guess you're right there." Dean said with a tight smile knowing Sam had taken another step in the healing process.

**TBC **_**The next chapter will be the last.**_


	30. Chapter 30

**Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 30**

**Disclaimer: If only I did own them….but alas, I don't!**

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**Previously: **_"At least now your brother is finally talking about what happened to him instead of keeping things inside. Now he can fully heal…physically and mentally." Bobby informed Dean with a smile._

During the ensuing weeks to follow, Sam opened up more and more with his family about everything that had happened during the time he had spent in captivity. In doing so, the night terrors had finally began to subside, only attacking him in his dreams about every eight to ten days. Dean was so happy to see his baby brother returning to the teen he once was before the nightmare began.

Not only was he healing mentally, but his hand had almost fully healed too. Sam was able to use it for just about anything he needed to, only experiencing slight pain every now and then. His fingers were now flexible enough once again to grip the handle of a pistol and he had been target practicing with their dad over the past five days, getting him ready for the hunt again.

Hearing the pistol go off behind Bobby's house, Dean looked out the window to see Sammy hit the target their dad had placed on the tree in the bull's eye area. _"Way to go Sammy." _He thought as rinsed the plate that he had just washed and placed it in the dish drainer. Pulling the plug, he quickly dried his hands on the towel and then walked out the back door, just in time to hear his dad praising Sammy.

"Way to go Tiger, I always knew you'd become the perfect shot again, even with the hand injury." John said as he wrapped an arm around Sammy's shoulder and pulled him in for a quick hug.

"Thanks Dad" Sam stated, a red tinge coming to his cheeks as he blushed at the praise he wasn't used to getting from his dad. It felt wonderful to know that his dad was proud of him for once. Placing the safety on as he watched Dean walking up towards them, he lowered the gun and took in the huge smile on his brother's face.

"That was some shooting kid." Dean said as he clasped a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Looks like the Winchester's will soon be putting terror into the heart of all things supernatural once again."

"As a matter of fact, I was just thinking about that boys." John said as he looked at his boys. "I think it's about time we get back to business, but I want to start with something easy for our first hunt back. I don't want to take any chances with something major until I'm sure you're fully ready for it once again." John said as he focused his attention on Sam.

Feeling like enormous butterflies were fluttering in his stomach at the mention of Sam going on the hunt again, Dean asked, "So what do you have on your mind for this hunt?" He knew that he and his dad were a little rusty also with neither of them having hunted since getting Sammy back from that madman Hank Reynolds.

"Nothing much Ace, just a simple salt and burn. Sammy can do some of the digging so we can see how much strength and dexterity he has in his hand and it will give us a chance to get back into the swing of things ourselves." John answered.

"Kay, that doesn't sound so bad." Sam agreed letting both Dean and his father know that he was ready to start hunting again. He knew how important it was to his dad and Dean to resume hunting the thing that had killed their mom, and he had held them back from it long enough. Sure, he still had reservations about the hunting life, but he also knew how much his brother loved it and it wasn't fair to keep him away from it any longer.

"Sammy, are you sure? I mean we could put it off another week if you feel the least little bit nervous about this." Dean informed his baby brother wanting Sam to know he was fine with it if Sam felt he wasn't ready yet.

"Yeah Dean, I'm sure." Sam replied with a sheepish smile knowing that no matter how old he got, Dean would always be a protective mother hen when it came to him.

"Okay then, I'll have Bobby see what he can find for us later tonight." John informed his boys as he wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders and led them inside the house. He was looking forward to things getting back to normal, or what was considered normal for the Winchester family anyway.

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Later that evening after having finished dinner, John decided it was time he let Bobby know about their plans to get back to the hunt. He knew the older hunter would most likely be upset seeing as how they had been staying with him for a few months now and Bobby had grown accustomed to having them around. As his boys settled in front of the television, John looked at his friend and mentor and said, "Hey Bobby, you mind if we got out on the porch and talk for a little while?"

"Sure John." Bobby replied a little warily wondering what John had on his mind. He could tell the hunter was anxious about something and his gut was telling him he wouldn't like it. Following John out the door, he leaned against the railing and surveyed the yard before turning to face the eldest Winchester. "So what's on your mind?" Bobby inquired afraid that he already knew the answer.

"Bobby, the boys and I were talking earlier and we decided it's time to get back to the hunt." John answered bluntly as he gave the hunter a tight smile. Seeing the ire raise in Bobby's eyes, he said, "I know you think it's too early, but Sam is fully healed now and it's time for things to get back to normal."

"Damn it John, I knew that this was going to happen sooner or later, that you would get back to the hunt, but don't you think that you need to give the kid some more time? I mean he went through hell and back with what Hank did to him and I'm not sure Sam's ready yet for what you're proposing ya idjit. Why don't you leave Sammy here with me while you and Dean do a few hunts, give him a little more time to get used to the idea of hunting again." Bobby argued hoping John would agree to his logic.

"Bobby, after what happened, I don't think I ever want Sammy out of my sights again. I know you're worried about him, but he'll be okay. He's ready to starting hunting again, he even said so himself."

"Shit John, he probably said that because he knew that it was what you wanted to hear. He knows that you and Dean have been aching to get back to hunting for that damned yellow eyed demon again and he doesn't want to hold you back." Bobby retorted as he pulled his ball cap off and scratched his head.

"You may be right, but I won't leave him behind Bobby, I can't. Besides, we both know that Dean and Sam couldn't stand to be separated from each other at this point. Hell, Sammy will be lucky if Dean ever lets him out of his field of vision ever again."

"Yeah, I guess you're right at that." Bobby said with exasperation knowing he was fighting a losing battle. "Just promise me you'll start with something simple until the kid is ready to face the bigger battles once again."

"That's what I was coming to talk to you about Bobby. I was hoping you had a simple salt and burn job that we could start with. At least with a salt and burn, Dean and I could keep a close eye on Sam at all times and make sure he doesn't get hurt."

"Yeah, I know of a few that need to be done. I was saving them for Joshua and Caleb, but so help me John, if you let that boy get hurt, I won't be responsible for what I do to you."

"Believe me Bobby, if anything were to happen to Sammy, Dean would kill me before you even got the chance to threaten me with buckshot again." John stated.

"So when do you plan on leaving?" Bobby asked definitely not wanting to hear the answer. He couldn't stomach the thought of the Winchesters leaving and hunting again. He had become very attached to the boys and it would kill him to have to watch them drive off.

"I'm hoping to be on the road by first light." John answered truthfully. He hated that Bobby was going to be hurt by their leaving, but it was time for them to get back to their lives. The longer they stayed, the harder it would be on Sammy to leave.

"That soon huh? Guess I better get ya the information ya need for the hunt then." Bobby said as he lowered his head to hide the tears that were forming in his eyes before opening the door to go back inside the house. He needed some time alone to deal with the news.

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Early the next morning after everything was packed, John and the boys walked downstairs with their duffle bags to find out that Bobby had gotten up extra early to prepare a big breakfast for them. Sitting down at the table, they found plates loaded with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and fresh biscuits. "Wow Bobby, I don't know what got into you old man, but I'm sure glad it did." Dean smirked as he dug into the food with gusto knowing he wouldn't have another home cooked meal for a while.

"Shuddup ya knucklehead." Bobby replied as he smacked Dean alongside his head with his ball cap. "I just wanted to make sure you boys got your stomachs full before leaving and I ain't no old man."

"It's great Bobby, thanks." Sam said gratefully as he sipped on the glass of orange juice, swallowing it around the lump that was growing in his throat at the thought of having to say goodbye.

"Anytime Tiger." Bobby said as he reached over and ruffled the kid's shaggy hair. "Ya know, I'm sure going to miss you and that idjit brother of yours." The rest of breakfast was spent somberly as the hunters dreaded having to say goodbye.

Once everybody had finished eating and Bobby cleared the table, John grabbed their duffle bags and took them outside giving Bobby and the boys a chance to say goodbye.

Walking with the boys out to the porch, Bobby pulled Sammy into a fierce hug. "Take care of yourself kiddo. I don't want to hear that you've been hurt ever again, ya hear?" He said as he swiped the tears from his eyes.

"I will Bobby, I promise." Sam replied as he returned the hug before turning and walking down the stairs, tears falling steadily down his cheeks also.

"So long old man." Dean said as he reached out a hand to shake Bobby's. He was surprised when Bobby took it and yanked him into his arms for a hug.

"Jeez Bobby, no chick flick moments dude." Dean said cheekily as he returned the hug.

"Take care of yourself and that brother of yours Dean." Bobby said as he released Dean from the hug.

"Ya know I will Bobby, you don't have to worry about that." Dean voiced as he clasped Bobby on the shoulder before walking down the steps and following Sammy out to the car.

Once the boys had loaded up, John walked up to where Bobby was standing on the porch. "Thanks for everything Bobby, we would never have gotten through all of this without you. I don't know how to thank you man."

"No thanks needed John, you and the boys are family, even if I do want to shoot you every once in a while. Don't be strangers, bring those boys by for a visit every once in a while okay?" Bobby said as he shook John's hand.

"You've got it." John replied before pumping Bobby's hand again and walking to the car.

Standing on the porch, Bobby waved goodbye as he watched the car roll down the driveway and out of sight. Damn, but he already hated how quiet it seemed already with the Winchester family gone. If tears were falling steadily down his face, it was because of the dust kicked up by the departing Impala.

**The END **_**Thank you for all of your wonderful support throughout this story. It meant more than you will ever know. I hope the last chapter met up with your expectations. **_


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